Booked for trespassing at Jharkhand’s Deoghar airport, Nishikant Dubey says ‘took permission’

“We had taken permission from the airport authorities. Does the government work on the instructions of an MP? The airport is under the Airport Authority of India, Air Traffic Control clearance is monitored by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, and security is under the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security. The FIR has also been lodged against the airport director… Why? Deoghar’s Deputy Commissioner knew an FIR won’t stand before the high court because if something happened at the airport, the in-charge is the director,” Dubey was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Following the incident, Bhajantri had written to the Civil Aviation Ministry alleging a “security protocol violation” and calling for necessary action to be taken. “It’s also requested that the incident may be reported further to AAI, DGCA, BCAS, Secy Gen, Lok Sabha and Defence Ministry,” he wrote, according to ANI.

The Jharkhand police has registered an FIR against Dubey, his two sons, MP Manoj Tiwari, Deoghar airport director, and others for allegedly forcing officials at the airport to clear the take-off of their chartered flight on the night of August 31.

“We had taken permission from airport authorities. CCTV footage shows that I was going in barefoot, so my son followed me with my footwear and asked me to wear the same,” Dubey also said, reported ANI.