Chennai airport ‘chaiwallah’ lands in laundering soup

The ED’s probe threw up an interesting modus operandi about how Kumar, who used to work in tea shops since childhood, allegedly connived with airport and customs officials and clobbered up illegal wealth and gold ornaments. The probe agencies found out that Kumar who used to “distribute tea and other food items” to officials at the Meenambakkam airport terminal since 1987 had a duty pass to enter the high-security area and had become a good friend of the officials posted there over a period of time.

According to the charge sheet filed in this case by the probe agencies, it all began in 2000 when the officials allegedly asked Kumar to “get money and goods from clearing and forwarding agents” on behalf of them and promised to share a part of the booty. Kumar, who the agencies said “was in good books” of the officials, was tasked to collect all these kickbacks in order to evade anti-corruption agencies.

However, CBI came calling in 2009 once it was tipped off about these illegal dealings at the airport. Kumar recorded his statement with the ED stating he purchased huge number of gold jewellery from the booty he got as it was “risky to retain cash.”

The allegation
* G Kumar had a duty pass to enter the high-security area and had become a good friend of the officials
* The officials allegedly asked Kumar to “get money and goods from clearing and forwarding agents” on behalf of them
* Kumar was tasked to collect all these kickbacks in order to evade anti-corruption agencies

Air India gives free tickets to employees

press trust of india
New Delhi, January 19

Air India is doling out free air tickets to its 24,000 employees, even as it expects to incur a loss of Rs 3,900 crore this financial year and has a debt burden of Rs 35,000 crore.

While its top officers like functional directors and joint managing directors are entitled to get 24 free tickets each year, deputy general managers and above get 20 passages under a scheme called Passage Entitlement-Vacation Travel. Those in the category of assistant general managers and senior AGMs having less than 20 years of service can avail 12 such tickets and those above 20 years can get 16.

The remaining staffers, who have put in between one and 20 years of service, are entitled to eight free tickets and 12 for those beyond 20 years. Half of these tickets can be used for international travel, according to the scheme which also makes it clear that the number of such staff-on-leave passage would be determined by the airline’s commercial department.

The scheme comes at a time when the national carrier is estimating a loss of Rs 3,900 crore in 2013-14, though it is down from Rs 5,200 crore reported in 2012-13 and Rs 7,560 crore posted the year before.