BENGALURU:
A 30-year-old man was arrested at the Kempegowda International Airport for hiding a radioactive material in his bag during the flight.
Airport sources said that the cobalt contained in the passenger’s body contains high levels of roentgen (a unit of radiation), which is quite dangerous for humans. An FIR was registered and he was arrested.
The man reached Bangalore from Bhubaneswar yesterday around 3 pm by IndiGo flight. During his exit at the airport, the radiation sensor inside his bag started beeping. The security personnel checked his baggage then the cobalt was found, which the traveler had hidden it inside two rods. Each rod is 3 inches long. Officials say the radiation appeared to be quite high.
Apparently the man was not aware of what he was carrying. It is possible that he was used as a carrier. Carriage of radioactive material is prohibited at airports in India. There are statistics on this in the prohibited list of both check-in and cabin baggage.
The airport police registered a case under IPC Sections 284 and 278. Indigo Airlines responded that they are collecting information about this.
