Airport goof-up exposes security flaws, vulnerability to ‘real crime’

MUMBAI: The detention of a Borivili teacher at the international airport on Monday night that turned out to be a fiasco for the police has depicted the security agencies in poor light. The woman shared the same name as fugitive gangster Ravi Pujari’s wife, Padama. Reason for the mess up; using the old medieval investigative method and not being well informed about the changing scenario.However, senior police officials maintain that they cannot take a chance when a woman and her son’s name is similar to that of a gangster’s. “We did our job,” said a senior police official.
The teacher, Padma, along with her 19-year-old son reached the airport to take a flight for for Abu Dhabi. As soon as she along with her son stepped into the immigration counter, she was stopped. The immigiration authorities found a look out circular (LOC) issued against her name. The LOC was issued to all the airports in the country by the Mangalore police who termed the woman as gangster Ravi Pujari’s wife, wanted in an extortion case.
In fact, Ravi Pujari’s wife Padam was arrested in Mumbai in 2005 for tring to get a fake passport. Her fingerprint was also taken. However, an LOC does not contain a column for fingerprint information. “Who will corroborate the fingerprint and verify it at the airport unless there is a trained staff?” asked a security staff. Another official supported the police action saying, “Police did its job. Two common names, that too mother and son’s, are very surprising. What is the problem if the immigration and the police detained and questioned the woman? It was a case of mistaken identity. Soon after the security personnel were satisfied that she was a different woman she was allowed to go.”
Experts say that her name was common and that might have led to this problem. “She will have to live with the trauma for many years now. She missed the flight and police took her name and address. Will she be compensated for the trauma she went through? ” said an observer. A senior police officer said, “Let the police do its job in the larger interest of the nation. The woman cooperated with the police. If there is so much hue and cry then what is the point in issuing LOC in various cases? Every time you cannot blame the security agencies. We agree that there is need to upgrade the exisiting system and use modern technology in the advanced era we are living in.”