Man smokes beedi onboard IndiGO flight; arrested at Mumbai airport

A 42-year-old man has been arrested after he allegedly smoked a beedi inside a lavatory onboard a Riyadh-bound IndiGo flight, a Mumbai Police official said on Tuesday raising concerns over security as the passenger had managed to pass through pre-boarding check-in at the Delhi airport.

He was handed over to the police by cabin crew after the Delhi-Mumbai-Riyadh flight landed at the city airport on Monday. Shockingly, the accused managed to sneak in a lighter and a beedi with him when he boarded the flight at the Delhi airport on Monday, the official said.

A labourer by profession, the accused, identified as Mohammed Fakruddin Mohammed Ammuruddin, was flying to Riyadh on a connecting flight via Mumbai. ”The incident came to light when a flight security official noticed smoke in its lavatory mid-air after Ammuruddin exited it,” the official said. After the flight landed in Mumbai, the man was detained by the cabin crew and the police were informed, he said.

He said Ammuruddin told police that he works as a labourer in the Saudi Arabia capital. ”During questioning, he claimed to have successfully passed the security check-up at the Delhi airport by concealing a beedi and a lighter in pockets of his pants,” the official added.

Ammuruddin was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others) and the Aircraft Act.

He was remanded to judicial custody by a local court.