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Delhi airport vows thorough probe after Gurugram surgeon's Apple Watch nearly stolen from security check tray
Dr Tushar Mehta, a surgeon based in Gurugram, took to microblogging platform X and narrated how he recovered his Apple Watch from a person at the airport.
Delhi Airport assured a ‘thorough investigation’ after a passenger nearly had his Apple Watch stolen, allegedly by two men, including a store worker, at the Capital's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport.
Dr Tushar Mehta, an orthopedic surgeon based in Haryana's Gurugram, took to microblogging platform X and narrated how he recovered his Apple Watch from a person at the airport after not finding it in the tray post security check.
The post on X was deleted by Dr Tushar Mehta after Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which provides security to all major airports across the country, probed the matter and found CCTV footage to be “contradicting the sequence of events”.
Replying to Dr Tushar Mehta, a Gurugram, Haryana-based orthopedic surgeon, Delhi Airport wrote on X on January 25, “Dear Dr Tushar, we sincerely regret the inconvenience caused. The theft of your Apple Watch and subsequent events are being taken seriously. We assure you that we will take this matter up strongly with all relevant parties, including CISF and the concessionaire.”
It added, “Please be assured that the safety and security of our passengers are our top priority. We will investigate thoroughly and take necessary actions to prevent such incidents in the future.”
The CISF had also responded, and asked Dr Tushar Mehta to share his PNR and contact number with them.
The incident
According to Dr Tushar Mehta, who narrated the incident in a now-deleted X post on Saturday evening, the Apple Watch was almost stolen at Delhi Airport Terminal 3.
The passenger recalled that as he was putting his belongings back into the laptop bag after security check, when he felt something was missing, realising it to be the watch.
Dr Mehta added he then approached a CISF personnel, who told him to check his bag and pockets again.
Subsequently, Dr Tushar Mehta spotted a person looking straight at him and walking away. He followed the person – a male – and found the latter at a store, and forcibly recovered the Apple Watch.
However, the would-be thief and another man – a worker from the store - confronted the passenger, making him realise the two knew each other.
Another CISF official intervened, and the doctor called up a ‘senior official,’ his long-time patient, after which the CISF official who intervened, said the doctor could leave.
Finally, Dr Tushar Mehta advised those reading the post to take care of their belongings at the security ‘once you clear it.’
[Note: This report has been updated to include recent developments, including the removal of Dr. Tushar Mehta’s X post following the CISF's probe in the matter. ]
