AI senior pilot made to pay Rs 2.4 lakh for shoplifting sunglasses

A senior Air India pilot had to cough up around Rs 2.4 lakh for allegedly lifting a pair of sunglasses from a duty-free shop at the Mumbai airport on Thursday.

A senior Air India pilot had to cough up around Rs 2.4 lakh for allegedly lifting a pair of sunglasses from a duty-free shop at the Mumbai airport on Thursday.

(Representative image) The stolen sunglasses were worth an estimated Rs 24,000. (Picture courtesy: Shutterstock)

The Air India pilot, who was operating a flight between Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram, was trying on sunglasses at a duty-free shop and allegedly kept one in his pocket, sources said.

According to sources, the sunglasses were worth an estimated Rs 24,000. The officials at the duty-free shop confronted the pilot when he flew back to Mumbai.

“He was asked to pay a penalty of Rs 2.4 lakh, 10 times the cost of the item,” said an AI official, on condition of anonymity.

A pilot colleague said there was some misunderstanding.

“The pilot had bought two sunglasses and accidentally took away a third one. He agreed to pay the penalty,” he said.

The incident was a private matter between two parties that had been amicably settled, a spokesperson for the national carrier said.