DRI arrests senior Air India Express crew member in gold smuggling probe
Kannur (Kerala), May 31: Initiating a comprehensive investigation into the gold smuggling incident involving a female crew member of an Air India Express flight, DRI sleuths on Friday arrested a senior male crew member of the same airline on Friday for his alleged "significant role" in recruiting her into the smuggling ring.
According to a source, Suhail Thanalot, a senior crew member of AIE and a native of Thillenkeri in Kannur district, was apprehended following intelligence and evidence compiled by the DRI regarding his involvement in the gold smuggling incident.
He was apprehended three days after Surabhi Khatun, who belongs to Kolkata, was arrested by the DRI for allegedly attempting to smuggle nearly one kilogram of gold from Muscat to Kannur by concealing it in her rectum. She was remanded in judicial custody on Thursday.
According to the source, Suhail, who has around 10 years' experience as cabin crew, is suspected of playing a significant role in recruiting Khatun into the smuggling syndicate.
He will be produced before the judicial magistrate with a request for remand, the source said.
With regard to Khatun's arrest, Air India Express had confirmed that Customs was investigating an incident involving their employee.
"We confirm that an incident is being investigated by the Customs authorities at CNN (Kannur) airport involving an employee. We are cooperating with the investigative authorities," a spokesperson of the airline had said.
The airline, however, has not reacted to the arrest of Suhail.
Based on specific intelligence by DRI Cochin, officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI - Kannur) intercepted Khatun.
Her personal search had resulted in the recovery of 960 grams of smuggled gold in compound form that was concealed in her rectum.
This is the first case in India where an airline crew member has been apprehended for smuggling gold by concealing it in the rectum, the source had claimed.
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Karnataka Lokayukta to register case, probe Bowring wall collapse
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Lokayukta Justice B S Patil on Thursday took serious note of the compound wall collapse at Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in the city that killed seven people, and announced registration of a case on its own while warning of action against officials found responsible.
The Lokayukta, who visited the site and conducted an inspection, expressed strong displeasure over the incident and questioned the inaction of authorities, even as police and emergency teams had earlier rushed to the spot to rescue victims trapped under the debris following heavy rain, strong winds and a hailstorm on Wednesday evening.
“I will now register a suo motu case. This is not just about this one incident — such incidents must not occur anywhere in the state or the city in the future,” Justice Patil told reporters.
Seven people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed and seven others injured when the compound wall collapsed as rain-battered victims had taken shelter near it, according to police. The victims included people from Kerala who were in the city on a study tour.
Calling for systemic accountability, the Lokayukta said, “Dilapidated buildings and weakened compound walls, especially in areas with public access, must first be identified. They must either be repaired, demolished, or rebuilt.”
He added that responsibility would be fixed on officials of the BBMP and the concerned departments.
Justice Patil said that hearings would be conducted and preventive action initiated, while also probing those responsible for it, how the incident could have been prevented, and why it was not prevented.
A Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO) team and a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team also inspected the site, while police cordoned off Kovil Street to facilitate the probe.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the government had initiated measures following the rain-related incidents and stressed preparedness.
“Since last night we have initiated measures regarding the rains. When it rains heavily, we must be prepared, and we are working towards that,” he told reporters here.
On the wall collapse, Shivakumar said, “I will not directly blame any officials. It was an old wall, and trees had grown alongside it. Due to that pressure, it collapsed.”
The Deputy CM said instructions had been issued to identify such vulnerable structures and clear areas around them, including relocating street vendors.
Karnataka Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil said a technical assessment had been ordered.
“This is a very serious matter. Innocent people have been affected. We are issuing directions to the engineers to find out why this compound wall collapsed and to assess its structural strength,” he told reporters after inspecting the spot.
The Minister noted that the wall was ‘very old’ and required thorough examination to prevent recurrence.
Speaking to reporters, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asked the Karnataka government to take precautions to ensure that incidents like the collapse of the Bengaluru government hospital compound wall, which caused loss of life, should not repeat.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference, Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad said the collapse raised questions about construction and maintenance practices.
“If a wall collapses within 25 years of its construction, it needs to be examined -- whether there was any technical issue, or if anything was altered inside, weakening it. All this can only come out through a technical investigation,” he said.
The Congress MLA also called for wider structural audits across the city, stating that all such structures, whether private or government, must be audited.
He urged citizens to support victims, saying it was a collective responsibility in times of crisis.
