Shocking revelations by police

We abide by rules & regulations: Airport director

RAIPUR: Raising serious concern over security of passengers, an industrialist was recently threatened and brutally beaten by a cab contractor at Swami Vivekananda international Airport premises here as he booked an Ola cab to travel to his destination.The young industrialist Vinay Agrawal, director of Hira Group of Industries, sustained injuries on chest, ear and also on ribs. The accused, an alleged serial offender, was arrested soon after the incident; but the airport authority has been keeping mum without taking any action against the contractor. The accused and his cousins, who are in the same cab business, are facing a number of criminal cases.Raipur police has been repeatedly asking the airport authority to cancel the contract because of anti-social activities being carried out by contractor and his men but no action has been taken so far. There have been numerous cases in the past in which these people have been thrashing passengers and cab owners even outside airport premises.Hira Group director Vinay Agrawal took an Ola cab at Swami Vivekananda International Airport after he returned from Bangalore flight at 6.30 pm on Friday . As soon as he boarded the taxi, a tall, stout man approached him on a motorcycle and asked him to step out. The cab driver had called him near the barricade close to terminal building.""He asked me to take out my luggage while he continued to abuse the cab driver. While the driver succumbed to the situation, this man abused and threatened me for booking the Ola cab. He grabbed collar and assaulted me for nearly 20 minutes. None of the airport security turned up to rescue me".Quoting medical report, Agrawal said that he has suffered with blunt trauma to chest and tenderness over rib 4,5 with a blow hole to his ear drum."If this has happened to a person from Raipur, what would be happening to passengers who were new to this city, they don't even think of complaining to police", he added.A case was soon lodged at Mana police station following which accused Pravesh Dubey was arrested under Sections 341,294,323 and 506 of the IPC.It was more shocking when Mana police maintained that Pravesh was a serial offender and his cousins Vikas and Vinay Dubey who too have been booked in five cases each in the past, have a contract agreement with airport with the counter name of Shivam travels to provide cabs.Talking to TOI, Virendra Srivastava, Mana police station in charge said that Pravesh has been listed as an anti-social element in police record. In the past too, there were cases reported against him for manhandling passengers.""While police have already written one letter to Santosh Dhoke director, Swami Vivekananda International Airport alerting him about the miscreant, we wrote another letter soon after the industrialist was thrashed,"" Srivastava said.The copy of letter in possession with TOI sent on April 29 and January 31 , clearly states that Pravesh, Vinay and Vikas Dubey who have several cases booked against them and have served imprisonment in the past, have contract and entrance permission at airport."Their contract should be called off with immediate effect as they are serial offenders and allowing them entry at the airport without character certification is objectionable with security point of view," the letter said.The letter also states that Raipur airport was among the most hyper-sensitive airports in the country with continuous movement of VVIPs including ministers, President and Prime minister of India. Hence, airport is supposed to submit to the police a list of all vendors associated with it but the airport authority has not complied with it.Srivastava alleged that airport has not been co-operating with police in the case and instead was blaming the police for looking into the matters falling under its jurisdiction. While we have already acted and arrested the accused, it's airport's responsibility to cancel contract licence and prevent his entry as advised by police-particularly in the light of recent incident.Talking to TOI, Swami Vivekananda International Airport director Santosh Dhoke said that an inquiry committee of five members was formed to look into Agrawal's case and a detailed report would be made after recording statements of eye-witnesses to submit it before regional headquarter at Kolkata."It would be headquarters' and tender commission's decision to continue with Dubey's contract or take action," Dhoke said.He claimed that Pravesh had submitted NOC to the airport given to him by police while airport has received only one latest letter from police alerting them about Dubey's offences."Moreover, as the incident took place out of terminal building, it's police's call to play the main role," Dhoke added.On banned entry of Ola and other cabs at airport Dhoke explained, ""We are bound with rules and regulations; any private agency wanting to operate via airport premises has to pay the royalty. Ola hasn't signed any tender with us; hence it doesn't have any counter and isn't allowed to pick passengers from airport premises. If they wish to operate they must secure a licence from airport, that's the rule.""Reacting srtongly, R aipur range IG GP Singh said, "This is a serious matter and we have been consistently receiving complaints in this regards. Pravesh Dubey along with his cousins have been arrested and it is a clear case of airport authority supporting the goons under the garb of taxi contractors. The Dubey's who hail from Uttar Pradesh reside at rajendra Nagar and have been associated with airport without issuing character certification from police. Similar accusations came into light against the parking contractors as well and police are going to take severe actions now."