Aviation security body transfers 26 officials

In the biggest-ever reshuffle in the history of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), as many as 26 senior officials have been shunted out of Delhi in a wave of transfer postings.

In the biggest-ever reshuffle in the history of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), as many as 26 senior officials have been shunted out of Delhi in a wave of transfer postings.

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The transfer orders were issued following an HT report that relatives of 15 BCAS officials were holding lucrative jobs with private airlines or aviation-related companies, raising issues of conflict of interest.

As the aviation sector’s security regulator, the BCAS, which comes under the civil aviation ministry, has wide-ranging powers and officials in the organisation had been clinging on to the same posts for years, leading to allegations that they served vested interests.

“In an environment prone to nepotism and corruption, aviation security must be well shielded from outside influence,” said Captain Mohan Ranganathan, member of the Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council, a government committee on air safety.

“There must be a definite time-frame for being posted to one place. The move to shift them will help improve the system.”

Among those transferred are deputy commissioner JS Rana, who was in charge of security matters relating to the Delhi airport while his son worked with Delhi International Airport Limited — the private consortium that operates the airport.

Similarly, assistant commissioner Chander Kanta Ranga was handling matters relating to Kingfisher Airlines even as her husband worked with the carrier.

Both were removed from their respective responsibilities after the HT report.