Subroto Lahiri, said to be a professor at a US university, was to go to Kolkata from Delhi on Friday morning by Kingfisher Airlines. He left for the West Bengal capital by an Indigo flight later that day, police sources say.
“During investigation it was found that Lahiri had taken an Indigo flight to Kolkata. However, his relatives in Kolkata are denying that he reached. If the Kolkata Police manage to trace him, we will send our team to arrest Lahiri,” said a senior Delhi Police officer. The incident is believed to have sent the alarm bells ringing at the US embassy.
Lahiri, who has been living in America for 25 years, was held for carrying live cartridges on Tuesday night at the Delhi airport. He had taken an American airline flight to the capital and boarded a coach for the domestic terminal of a connecting Kingfisher flight to Kolkata on Wednesday morning.
But he left behind a bag in the coach, which was found by the Central Industrial Security Force and handed over to the terminal manager. When the bag was opened, it was found to have live cartridges. Lahiri was detained at the airport.
“After six rounds of bullets were recovered by a Kingfisher Airlines official from his baggage, Lahiri was detained by the police. He is a licence holder but his licence is not valid in India,” the police official said. The licence in any case is believed to have expired.
Agencies
