Bengaluru: Pregnant woman tapes knife to leg, held at KIA

BENGALURU: A 26-year-old pregnant woman passenger with a knife, paper cutter, razor and other sharp objects strapped to her ankle with a duct tape, was arrested at the Kempegowda International Airport on Thursday.
Uma Devi from Assam was scheduled to board Indi-Go flight 6E 457 from Bengaluru to Guwahati at 7.10am.
Devi and four family members came for the preboarding security checks at 5.20am. A Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officer frisking Devi felt something unusual on her left ankle. She was escorted away and a check confirmed she had strapped a knife, a paper cutter, single blade, razor, nailclipper, a metal filer and tongs to her leg.
Woman claims carrying metal parts is community custom
Sources said Devi admitted to CISF to taping the sharp objects and claimed it was a custom in her community for pregnant women to tie metal parts around the stomach. As tying a metal part around the stomach made her uneasy, she reportedly preferred to tie them around her ankle.
IndiGo authorities were alerted and her luggage was offloaded. Her family members, including husband who is an employee of a private company in Bengaluru, had already boarded the aircraft and were told to disembark. The authorities carried out additional checks on the aircraft before it took off.
She had booked front seat
The suspect had booked seat number 1A which is close to the cockpit. Devi claimed she had come to Bengaluru for treatment. She has been handed over to KIA police who are verifying if Devi’s claims about the community custom before taking a decision.