UP District Magistrate’s Wife’s Checked-in Bag With Rs 15-L Valuables Missing, Airlines Staff Booked

Manju Singh, wife of the District Magistrate (DM), Manvendra Singh, in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad, has filed a case against the staff of a prominent airline, as her checked-in bag with cash and jewellery worth Rs 15 lakh went “missing” on January 28 when she was on her way from Delhi to Hyderabad.

“We have registered a First Information Report (FIR) under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and other related charges against unidentified employees of the airlines,” said Ramprasad Sharma, station house officer, Civil Lines Police Station, Moradabad.

According to the FIR, the incident took place around 11pm, when Singh was about to board a Hyderabad-bound flight from terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. “As I was about to board, a flight attendant or some official from the airport approached me and told me to hand over the bag I was carrying, stating that the bag would be sent through cargo and I can get it at the destination. In the bag, there was cash and jewellery worth Rs 15 lakh. The official also handed over the slip after which I boarded the flight,” Singh said in the FIR.

The FIR further stated that on reaching the destination, when she asked the officials about her bag, she was told to collect it from belt no 37. However, after waiting for long, when she enquired with the officials, she was told that she would be informed about her luggage within a week. When even after a week, she didn’t get a satisfactory response from the airlines, she decided to lodge the complaint.

Manvendra Singh said, “Officials at the airport took the bag at the time of boarding. However, it was never returned. We have lodged an FIR and the matter is under investigation.”