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CISF apprehends man scaling airport wall
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on Saturday apprehended a 21-year-old man after he scaled the perimeter wall of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport
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Mumbai The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on Saturday apprehended a 21-year-old man after he scaled the perimeter wall of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and jumped inside the airfield.
Chief Security Officer of Mumbai Airport, Shrikant Kishore, said that the man seemed like an addict and was under the influence when the incident took place.
According to Kishore, the intruder was spotted by the CISF officials posted near the perimeter wall on Kurla side of the airport immediately after he scaled the 10-feet high wall and one-and-half feet barbed wire above that at around 12 noon. CISF personnel guarding the area apprehended him, as soon as he jumped inside the airport, Kishore added.
“The perimeter wall is quite away from the runway,” he clarified.
Police officers said the man has been identified as Devananad Gautam, a native of Uttar Pradesh and appeared mentally unstable. He came to Mumbai five days ago by travelling by train without a ticket and was caught at the LTT Kurla Terminus. The officers said that they have found a challan in his pocket where he was fined, but let off, as he did not have any cash. The man then reached Kurla and scaled the lowest part of the perimeter wall of the airport.
The police have booked him under sections 447 and 448 of the Indian Penal Code read with section 120 of the Maharashtra Police Act and sections of the Aircraft Act, primarily for criminal trespass and placed him under arrest.
The police have contacted Gautam’s brother who told them that Gautam was undergoing treatment since 2017 and had left home six days ago and hopped on an express train.
The police said that he will be produced before a metropolitan magistrate on Sunday.
Kishore said the man, initially, could not be questioned by CISF personnel, as he was not able to speak properly and was handed over to the Airport Police late in the afternoon.
“All we could make out by questioning him is that his name is Devanand and he is native of Uttar Pradesh. He was wearing torn clothes,” said Kishore when asked about the identity of the intruder.
Former DGP Maharashtra D Sivanandhan said, “Sometimes we need a mad man or a drunkard to show our weaknesses. The outer periphery of Mumbai airport has always been a vulnerable area. With the increased use of modern technologies all these intrusions could be prevented/ detected, he added.
Commenting on the development, Former Mumbai police commissioner M N Singh said, airport security is certainly a very important issue. “News reports suggest that the person jumped the security wall and managed to gain unlawful entry in the highly sensitive airport area in broad daylight. But reports also say that he was nabbed immediately by the security personnel and they prevented him from going near the airstrip. This in fact shows the alertness of the security personnel. In my opinion, security agencies can intensify their on-ground security cover and should also take additional measures to prevent such illegal entries from over the boundary walls of the airport. They can either raise the height of the security wall or put barbed wire on the wall,” Singh added.
A senior CISF officer well versed with airport security said that there is always a threat of people scaling the Mumbai airport perimeter wall and entering inside due to vertical slums in close proximity of the perimeter wall.
The airport perimeter wall is 10 feet high with one-and-half-feet barbed wire above it and the entire stretch is under close watch 24/7, the officer said adding that watchtowers are put up for the purpose close to the perimeter wall.
