A person, claiming to be a personal assistant (PA) of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, has been arrested by customs from the Delhi airport for allegedly smuggling gold.
A report by ANI quoted sources in Delhi customs as saying two people were detained on Wednesday (May 29) in a gold smuggling case at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport. “One of them has been identified as Shiv Kumar Prasad, who claimed to be a PA of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.”
“The said individual (Prasad) was intercepted and a heavy gold chain weighing 500 grams was recovered from him which was handed over to him by the passenger inside the arrival hall. Inquiry revealed that the individual had a valid Aerodrome Entry Permit,” Varun Koundinya, Joint Commissioner of Customs IGI Airport, New Delhi, said.
“Gold valued totally at Rs 35.22 Lakhs was recovered. The recovered gold has been seizedunder section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962,” Koundinya said, adding further investigation is underway.
Tharoor PA has aerodrome entry
Sources further said, “Prasad has an aerodrome entry permit card that allows him access to airport premises. He entered the airport premises and received a packet when he was held along with the passenger.”
“The circumstances of acquisition of Aerodrome Entry Permit by the receiver, as a part of the protocol team for a Member of Parliament, are being looked into,” Koundinya said.
For the unversed, an aerodrome entry permit is the identity card that is issued by the Director General or any person authorised by the Central government as per guidelines issued by the Central Government and used for entry into an aerodrome or any part of an aerodrome.
What was Shiv Kumar Prasad doing at Delhi airport?
Prasad was at the Delhi airport to receive a person who had landed from Bangkok onflight TG-323. Both people were arrested when the passenger was trying to hand over around 500 grams of gold to Prasad.
Customs authorities said the case is currently under investigation, and their credentials are being verified.
Tharoor reacts, says ‘do not condone any alleged wrongdoing’
Tharoor, the incumbent MP, is contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency, where polling was held in the first phase on April 26.
The Congress MP, who is in Himachal Pradesh’s Dharamshala for “campaigning purposes” said he was “shocked” to hear of an incident involving a “former member” of his staff who has been rendering part-time service to him in terms of airport facilitation assistance.
“He is a 72 year old retiree undergoing frequent dialysis and was retained on a part-time basis on compassionate grounds. I do not condone any alleged wrongdoing and fully support the authorities in their efforts to take any necessary action as may be required to investigate the matter. The law must take its own course,” Tharoor said in a post on X.
‘Alliance of gold smugglers’: BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was quick to react. Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who has been fielded by BJP against Tharoor, said CPM and the Congress are an “alliance of gold smugglers”.
“First CM Secy involved in Gold smuggling. Now Cong MP ‘aide’/PA detained for Gold smuggling. CPM and Cong – both INDI alliance partners – alliance of gold smuggler,” Chandrasekhar said in a post on X.
With inputs from agencies
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