Woman arrested at airport for carrying firearm

A 42-year-old woman was arrested at the Delhi airport for carrying a country-made pistol and live ammunition in her cabin baggage, police said.

A 42-year-old woman was arrested at the Delhi airport for carrying a country-made pistol and live ammunition in her cabin baggage, police said.

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Vandana Kaushal was set to board an IndiGo flight (6E 177) to Mumbai at the Indira Gandhi International Airport when a country-made pistol (katta) and one live round was found in her cabin baggage during screening on Sunday.

The undeclared firearm was detected in her baggage by officials of the private airport operator Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) during screening.

DIAL officials immediately informed the airline security who asked Kaushal if she was carrying necessary documents for carrying a firearm.

"The airline informed us and when the passenger was questioned about the firearm, she replied that her servant must have put it inside her cabin baggage by mistake," said a senior police official who didn't wish to be identified.

"She failed to produce any document for carrying a firearm. We are investigating the case," he said.

"She is a resident of Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh and lives in a farmhouse owned by her father," the official said.

"Her husband, who is a customs official, lives in Mumbai, where she was going to meet him. Her father was murdered sometime ago and that could be a possible reason behind keeping a firearm as a means of selfdefence," he said.

A case under the Arms Act has been registered against her, the official said. Kaushal was produced in a court on Monday, which granted her bail for a surety of R10,000.

The 16.5-cm long country-made pistol was made of iron with a wooden butt, the official said. The live cartridge was of .325 bore, he said.