Bengaluru: A man from Rajasthan’s Marwar region was caught smoking beedi on a Bengaluru-bound Akasa Air flight.
The 56-year-old, identified as Praveen Kumar, was arrested once the aircraft landed at Kempegowda International Airport, after the duty manager of the airline filed a complaint with airport police.
He was charged with endangering the lives of fellow passengers.
So why did Praveen act in such a stupid manner?
It was his first-ever air travel, and wasn’t aware of the rules, Praveen revealed later.
Having boarded the flight in Ahmedabad, he went to the toilet after the plane had taken off and lit a beedi.
Crew members nabbed him after the smoke alert went off.
“I regularly travel by train and smoke inside the toilet. Thinking I could do the same here, I decided to smoke a beedi,” the accused told police, as quoted by The Times of India.
The fact that Praveen, who has been sent to Bengaluru central jail, could get away without beedis being traced during security frisking at Ahmedabad has led to raised eyebrows.
“They get detected easily… The only explanation for such an incident is failure in frisking,” a senior police official told ToI.
