A theft FIR has been registered against the accused who is in police custody
Mumbai: A 31-year-old airline ground staff member was arrested on Sunday for allegedly stealing a passenger’s wallet containing a passport, Aadhaar card, Dubai driving licence, cash and a gold bar worth Rs 1.26 lakh at Mumbai’s international airport. Akshay Hire, a customer service assistant and wheelchair operator, allegedly took the wallet after another passenger handed it to him for deposit in Terminal 2 airport’s lost-and-found section on Nov 5. The wallet belonged to Ashok Pednekar (44), a Dahisar East resident employed as a sales officer with a Dubai real estate firm. Pednekar had arrived at T2 on an Emirates flight for a two-week Diwali holiday on Nov 5. He told police he left the wallet on a trolley at Parking 6 while entering a lift at 9.28pm.
Pednekar said another passenger had handed the wallet to the accused for deposit with the lost-and-found department.
The incident was captured on CCTV camera, police said. He was taken to Sahar police station two days later and continued denying the allegation for two hours until officers showed him the footage, police said. When he returned about three minutes later, the trolley and wallet were missing. “Pednekar approached a Central Industrial Security Force ( CISF ) official and checked the CCTV footage. Pednekar and CISF personnel repeatedly questioned Hire, who denied taking the wallet. He was arrested within five hours of the case being registered and remanded in police custody. During questioning, Hire allegedly admitted stealing US dollars belonging to another passenger. Police suspect Hire may have committed other thefts at the airport.
The accused allegedly hid it in a wheelchair after assisting an elderly woman, changed his clothes, retrieved the wallet, placed it in his bag and signed off duty,” a police officer told TOI on Monday. Police registered an FIR on Sunday and recovered the stolen valuables from Hire.