New Delhi: In connection with a gold smuggling case, Delhi Customs on Thursday detained two individuals, one of whom identified himself as Shiv Kumar Prasad, a staff member of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. Prasad was a "former staffer" who had been "rendering part-time service...in terms of airport facilitation assistance," according to Tharoor's reaction to the event.
Joint Commissioner of Customs Varun Koundinya made the announcement on Thursday, stating that on Wednesday, an Indian national arrived at Delhi airport via a flight from Bangkok. Customs agents at IGI Airport have filed a gold smuggling case against him, Indian Express reported
Additional investigation uncovered the presence of a second person who had arrived at the airport to greet the traveller and help with smuggling, Koundinya continued.
“The said individual was intercepted and a heavy gold chain weighing 500 grams was recovered from him which was handed over to him by the passenger inside the arrival hall,” Koundinya said, adding that an enquiry had revealed that the individual had a valid Aerodrome Entry Permit. “The circumstances of acquisition of aerodrome entry permit by the receiver, as a part of the protocol team for a member of parliament, are being looked into,” he further said.
According to the statement, gold worth Rs 35.22 lakh was confiscated, and an additional investigation is in progress.
In a post on X, Tharoor said, “While I am in Dharamshala for campaigning purposes, I was shocked to hear of an incident involving a former member of my staff. He is a 72-year-old retiree undergoing frequent dialysis and was retained on a part-time basis on compassionate grounds.”
Saying that the “law must take its own course”, Tharoor said that he fully supported the authorities in their efforts to take “any necessary action as may be required to investigate the matter”.