CBI arrests BCAS official, Air One CMD

The CBI on Thursday said that the agency has arrested BCAS official Rahul Rathore and Air One Aviation CMD Alok Sharma in connection with the issuance of airport access pass to journalist Upendra Rai by violating norms.

The CBI had on May 1 registered an FIR against Air One’s Chief Security Officer Prasun Roy and unnamed officials of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) for aiding Rai to get access passes to airports. Rai was arrested earlier in the case.

The registration of the case came following investigations after the probe agency received inputs that Rai purportedly received around Rs 1.02 crore from Air One Aviation Pvt Ltd in four instalments in 2017.

It is claimed that Rai in criminal conspiracy with Roy and others cheated the BCAS and the Delhi International Airport (DIAL) and “obtained, fraudulently and dishonestly” temporary and permanent Aerodrome Entry Pass (AEP).

While he was not an employee of Air One, it is alleged that he initially got temporary passes to access Delhi airport. Later, he also got a permanent pass to enter all airports in the country by providing false information, “thus jeopardising the national security”.

The company proposed his name for the pass citing that he was quality control director while his name was not approved by the directorate general of civil aviation for the post.

“The source has further informed us that in his application for issuance of Press Information Bureau card for the year 2018, the journalist had not declared himself as a bonafide employee i.e consultant or director, quality control of Air One,” the FIR had claimed.