BENGALURU: For the second consecutive day, cash running into lakhs was seized by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at Bengaluru airport from the hand baggage of a flyer.
The managing director of a constructions company, who is a native of Karnataka, was caught with Rs 10 lakh in his hand baggage on Wednesday afternoon before he could board a flight to Hyderabad.
According to an airport source, the incident took place at 12.50 pm in the domestic security hold area of the Kempegowda International Airport. The passenger Pitchikala Venkateshwara Rao was supposed to travel to Hyderabad by Flight No AI 0568, which had a scheduled departure time of 2 pm.
"During screening of his hand baggage in the domestic security hold area, a CISF officer got suspicious and diverted the bag for physical check. When the officer checked the bag physically, he found Rs 10 lakh in Indian currency," said the source. The Income Tax department has been alerted about it for further action, the source added.
According to an Air India source, "We do not have a specific limit on cash to be carried on our domestic flight but there needs to be substantial documentary evidence to establish the source of the cash."
On Tuesday, the CISF had nabbed a top customs officer from Chennai with nearly Rs 75 lakh in cash plus other valuables. The officer Irfan Mohammed Ahmed and his wife were on their way to Lucknow.