Man held for extorting money from KIA passengers

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: City Airport Police arrested a man who tried to extort money from passengers by creating a false story that his ailing father was hospitalised and he needed urgent medical attention, sources from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) said on Monday.

The arrest was made after a few people at the Airport found the man's behaviour suspicious and alerted the police personnel. The accused has been identified as Vignesh, 27, and a case under Section 420 was registered against him on Sunday, the sources added. Following the complaints, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) took the accused into custody around 7.30 pm and interrogated him.

"We found 26 credit cards in his wallet out of which 24 were valid. To appear like a genuine traveller, he had booked a flight to Chennai and entered the airport. Later, he asked for Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 for the ‘emergency treatment’ of his father," an official from the Airport police said.

The personnel suspected that the accused was apparently a part of a bigger gang that operated in different cities. An investigation is underway. "This kind of activity is rare at an airport. Two years ago, a similar incident was reported at the KIA and before that, another incident had taken place at the Mumbai airport," the official added.