An employee of a private ground-handling company at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) has been accused of stealing two iPhones belonging to a passenger in April. However, the airline filed a police complaint only on May 31.
The accused was caught on a CCTV camera stealing the phones.
According to the complaint filed by R Ganesh Kumar, an employee of TATA Sia Airlines Ltd (Vistara), the passenger, Hemanth Kumar, had booked a flight from Bengaluru to Chandigarh on April 28.
During baggage check, security personnel found a power bank and five iPhones in Kumar’s check-in bag. Since power banks are banned in check-in baggage, they removed it from his bag.
The airline sent the bag to Chandigarh at 8.40 am the following day. Kumar, on receiving the bag, found two iPhones missing. He lodged a complaint with the airline, which verified CCTV footage to find that 27-year-old Shubham Mishra, working with ground-handling service partner AISATS Ltd, had stolen the phones around 2.30 am on April 29.
During an internal investigation, Mishra confessed to stealing the phones and selling them. The airline returned the money to the passenger. The airline has terminated the services of Mishra, who has gone back to his native place. Police said a case of servant theft has been registered.