The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked various security agencies to replace words like 'VIP' or 'VVIP' with 'special' or 'high profile' in their files and other documentations.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked various security agencies to replace words like 'VIP' or 'VVIP' with 'special' or 'high profile' in their files and other documentations. The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked various security agencies to replace words like 'VIP' or 'VVIP' with 'special' or 'high profile' in their files and other documentations.

The sun has finally set on the 'VIP raj' at the country's airports or at least a start has been made in this direction by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).

To prune the wings of those who flaunt the VIP tag to enjoy privileged status at various airports in the country, the BCAS has issued a slew of guidelines that state that there will be no discrimination on the basis of an individual's official position and face value.

The guidelines, issued on February 26 (Mail Today has a copy of it), have been applied at the Delhi airport to begin with. The order will be reviewed after a month following which it will be implemented in airports across the country with a special focus in the metros.

According to the guidelines, there will be no extra queue during security checks for such 'dignitaries' and that they will be required to stand in a common queue, irrespective of their class of travel. The guidelines will be applicable to all politicians, business class travellers as well as Commercially Important Persons (CIP).

Besides, various agencies, including CISF, the Delhi Police and the Customs department, have been instructed to reduce the number of courtesies provided to 'VIPs'.

According to the CISF, the Delhi Police providing 'VIP' treatment to various people has already been reduced by almost 50 per cent this year compared to last year.

Besides, the Ministry of Home Affairs has specifically asked various security agencies to replace the words 'VIP' or 'VVIP' from their files and other documentations with word such as 'special' or 'high profile'.

"Recently, the top brass of the CISF, including ADG and DG, have told the airport chiefs to cut down on the number of courtesy. Now, if any minister wants the CISF to facilitate him/her, the person concerned has to send a letter or fax," a CISF official said.

The guidelines have ordered the airport authority/agencies to streamline the screening of passengers at Terminal 1D and Terminal-3.

Senior CISF officials confirmed that sign boards directing passengers towards a separate line and other equipment to frisk VIP, CIPs and business class passengers have already been removed after the order.

But the courtesies provided to differently-abled persons, senior citizens, etc, continue to remain in place. "As far as possible, there will be a dedicated channel for crew, senior citizens (above 60 years) and persons with disability. Crew will continue to be accorded out of turn screening," the order states.

The guidelines have, however, not gone down well, as the Delhi airport operator DIAL has redflagged it.

"This new order might dent the ratings of Delhi airport, as various airports have extra queues for important persons. DIAL officials are not very happy and may approach the BCAS to revoke the order," an airport source said.

Inside job suspected in gold smuggling cases

Gold smugglers may have roped in airline officials in smuggling gold from Dubai. On Monday, CISF intelligence recovered gold worth Rs 1.10 crore from the toilet of a flight coming from Dubai to Delhi. According to CISF officials, no arrests have been so far. They said there has been an increase in such incidents and thus airline officials may be put under scanner.

"On March 9, the CISF got a tip that gold smugglers have hid gold bars in the flight. Later, CISF official narrowed down the location and told the Customs Department that 36 bars of gold have been concealed inside the toilet of Fly-Dubai flight number FZ 431," a senior CISF official told Mail Today.

The Customs team found 36 gold bars weighing 4.5 kg gold from the toilet. However, officials suspect that airline staff may be also involved in gold smuggling.

"Without the connivance of the airline staff, it is not possible to hide gold in the plane's toilet and that too in huge quantity," the sources said.

According to the sources, there is steep rise in such cases and soon intelligence staff will be keeping an eye on airlines officials.

"This is not a new modus operandi of smuggling gold. Now, agencies will keep a check on airline staff," a senior airport official told Mail Today.

Similarly, customs officials sized around 2.8kgs of gold worth Rs 70.58 lakh at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in Mumbai hidden inside the toilet of an Indigo aircraft. Also gold was found under the seat of a Jet Airways aircraft on Friday. Officials recovered two cut pieces of gold bars weighing one kg worth Rs 24.68 lakh from the toilet of a Dubai-Mumbai flight. Another 1.8kg of gold in the form of 16 gold bars were found under seat no 17B of a Doha-Mumbai flight.

- By Ankur Sharma in New Delhi