Man on look-out notice gives a slip to Customs officials at CSMIA

A man intercepted by immigration officials at Mumbai airport managed to escape after a lookout notice was issued against him by Tamil Nadu police. A case has been registered with the Sahar police. The man, identified as Janhangir Mohammed Abu Haniffa, holds an Indian passport and is a native of Tamil Nadu. The police are currently searching for him.

MUMBAI: A 54-year-old man, who had landed in the city from Ethiopia on Wednesday, was intercepted by the immigration officials at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) as a lookout notice had been issued against him by the Tamil Nadu police. However, the man managed to give the officials a slip, after which a case has been registered with the Sahar police.

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As per the police, the man identified as Janhangir Mohammed Abu Haniffa holds an Indian passport issued in January 2020 in Chennai and is a native of Ramnad in Tamil Nadu.

He came to Mumbai from Addis Ababa around 1.30 pm. “When his immigration process was underway, one of the officers alerted the seniors about a lookout notice against him issued by the commissioner of police for Chennai City. The notice had a remark: ‘Detain and inform the originator alongside’,” said an official from the Sahar police.

The police official said that the immigration officials informed the Chennai police that the man mentioned in the look-out circular had been stopped at the airport.

The Chennai police asked the immigration officials to hand him over to the local police till they could come to Mumbai and take custody of the accused, added the police official.

“Meanwhile, Customs officials were checking Haniffa’s bags. He was accompanied by an officer, who took his documents to another room for verification purposes. When the officer returned with his senior after 13 minutes, he did not find Haniffa in the office,” said a policeman. He added that the bags of the accused were also missing.

The police later learnt that Haniffa had spoken to a senior Customs official, who did not know about the look-out circular and convinced him to return his passport and other documents and left with his entire luggage. The officials notified the airport security personnel to search for the person, but he had managed to flee.

Deputy commissioner of police for zone 8 Dixit Kumar Gedam confirmed that the accused had been booked under section 224 (resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension) of the Indian Penal Code and that Sahar police are looking for him.