‘Negligent’ customs officer suspended

Mumbai: The Mumbai customs has suspended superintendent of customs for negligence and mishandling a passenger’s bag. Geeta Patil, one of heads of the warehouses at the airport, was suspended after a passenger’s handbag was misplaced.  

Ms Patil, who works at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport along with a sepoy were suspended nearly ten days after the customs department found that the duo had not informed the department about a passenger’s bag being mishandled.

According to sources, an Indian passenger who arrived from Abu Dhabi had forgotten his handbag near the X-ray machine of the green channel. The bag consisted of a DSLR camera, some chocolates and a blazer. The passenger, who forgot his handbag claimed that he had important pictures in the camera which he didn’t want to lose.

Sources said that after checking with other authorities, the passenger approached the customs department and told them about the missing handbag. As the handbag was untagged, the officials were unable to locate it initially.

After the officials decided to investigate the matter, Ms Geeta informed the official that she had kept the bag in one of the warehouses. The bag was found in the same place as told by the officer and was safely handed over back to the passenger.