Stowaway booked under Passport Act, interrogation on
An Indian man who managed to board an Air India flight at Medina in Saudi Arabia without ticket or passport and hid in the toilet to travel here, has been booked under the Passport Act even as his interrogation so far has not revealed any intention to cause any harm.
"Jaipur Police, ATS (Anti-Terrorist Squad) and SOG (Special Operation Group) of Rajasthan Police are interrogating the man and officials of Military Intelligence will also interrogate him," a police source said.
In a major security breach, Habib Husain (25) from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, who was working at Medina airport with a Saudi ground handling company, got into the plane which returned to Jaipur on Friday night and hid in the toilet. His presence came to light about half an hour after the flight took off from Medina when a passenger went to the toilet.
His family members would arrive here from Moradabad by this evening, the sources said.
"Investigation so far reveals that his aim was just to escape from his employer in Medina and get back home. But at the same time, this is a very serious thing which could put passengers' lives at stake," an official said.
Habib told police that he had gone to Saudi Arabia six months ago. He, through a contractor there, got a job of a sweeper at the Medina airport and his employer took away his passport to ensure that he does not escape from the country.
He was also not being paid regularly despite putting up hard work, so he wanted to come back home, Habib said.
On Friday last, he got a chance to flee and managed to get in the Jaipur-bound Air India aircraft on the pretext of cleaning it.
Police officials are verifying the details given by Habib and trying to contact the agent who helped in getting him the job in Saudi Arabia.
Habib managed to board the Air India flight, carrying 273 Haj pilgrims back home, without ticket and passport, and travelled here. During questioning by the cabin crew, it was found that it was a case of stow-away and Habib did not intend to harm anybody.
