A rape accused, Amandeep Singh, who was brought in from Bahrain to India evaded arrest at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) on December 20, sparking a blame game between the police and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the agency responsible for airport security.
Singh, who had been on the run since April 2020, arrived at the airport from Bahrain at 4.55 AM. He was stopped at the immigration department as a lookout circular (LOC) was issued against him and handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel deployed at the airport, according to the police.
"The CISF personnel were on the way to handing him over to the Delhi Police when he fled from their custody by jumping from counter number 33 in the arrival section of the immigration department at about 10 AM," an officer told news agency Press Trust of India (PTI).
The CCTV footage, captured at the airport, reportedly shows Singh moving from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2.
The police First Information Report (FIR) holds the CISF accountable, stating that Singh was under their supervision when he fled.
"Singh was in the custody of CISF staff on duty. Now it has been learnt that he escaped from custody at 1000 hours while a CISF guard went to the washroom around 0957 hours. Singh exited the arrival immigration area illegally by jumping the counter number 33 gate (Indian Side). Thus Singh cheated Indian Immigration by illegally escaping from the arrival Immigration area. Therefore, a case may be registered against him under relevant sections of law," as per the FIR quoted in the Hindustan Times.
However, the CISF firmly refuted these claims. Shrikant Kishore, the Chief Spokesperson of the force, denied any responsibility for Singh's escape. He clarified that Singh was never formally handed over to the CISF and therefore their personnel were not responsible for his custody. Furthermore, he questioned the lack of entry details in the immigration register related to Singh's arrival.
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