Man Arrested At Mumbai Airport For Smoking Beedi On Indigo Flight

According to a Mumbai police official, a 42-year-old man has been arrested after allegedly smoking a beedi inside a lavatory onboard a Riyadh-bound IndiGo flight on Tuesday, raising concerns over security protocols at the Delhi airport.

Identified as Mohammed Fakruddin Mohammed Ammuruddin, the accused, managed to pass through pre-boarding check-in at the Delhi airport carrying a lighter and a beedi with him.

The incident unfolded mid-air when a flight security official noticed smoke emanating from the lavatory after Ammuruddin exited it. Upon finding the beedi inside the toilet, the cabin crew detained him after landing at Mumbai airport and handed him over to the Sahar Police.

Ammuruddin, who works as a labourer, was flying to Riyadh via Mumbai on a connecting flight.

During questioning, the man claimed to have successfully bypassed security checks at the Delhi airport by concealing the beedi and lighter in his pants’ pockets. He has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including endangering the life or personal safety of others (336), and the Aircraft Act, and sent to judicial custody.

Last year, in May, a 56-year-old man was arrested similarly at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru for smoking a beedi on a flight. Praveen Kumar, from Marwar, Rajasthan, had boarded the Akasa Air flight from Ahmedabad. He was found smoking in the toilet by the cabin crew. When questioned by the police, he claimed to not know the rules as it was his first time flying.