Uzbek woman held for stealing luxury handbags from baggage belt at Delhi airport

New Delhi, Jul 21 (PTI) An Uzbek woman, who frequently visited India to procure garments for business in her country, has been arrested for allegedly stealing three luxury handbags from a baggage belt at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, an official said on Monday.

Immigration authorities apprehended Mayramkan Karabasheva Alibaevna (60) at the IGI Airport on July 18 following a look out circular (LOC) issued against her by Delhi Police, ACP (IGI Airport) Usha Rangnani said.

“A complaint was lodged at the IGI Airport police station by Gurugram-based Ishita Kullar, who arrived in Delhi from Kuala Lumpur on June 15,” the ACP said.

In her complaint, Kullar said she noticed that three ladies’ handbags she purchased from the Kuala Lumpur airport were missing from her luggage which she collected from the conveyor belt at Terminal-3 of IGI Airport.

Suspecting theft, she approached the airport authorities and subsequently lodged the complaint.

Police analysed CCTV camera footage from various points across Terminal-3 and spotted a foreign national picking up the complainant’s handbags from the conveyor belt before hurriedly leaving the terminal.

Additional footage showed her boarding a cab from the airport’s departure area.

“Police traced the cab and identified the drop-off point as Paharganj. The accused was later identified through hotel guest records as Mayramkan Karabasheva,” the ACP said.

The woman checked out of the hotel the next day and left the country. Considering her status as a foreign national and flight risk, police issued an LOC.

She was intercepted by immigration officials upon her return to Delhi on July 18 and handed over to police, the officer said.

“During interrogation, the accused confessed to the theft. She told police that she frequently visited India to procure garments for her business in Uzbekistan. On June 15, while waiting for her luggage, she noticed the unattended handbags and stole them,” Rangnani said.

She later took a cab to Paharganj, completed her business and flew back to Tashkent the next day.

All three handbags were subsequently recovered on her instance from a Paharganj hotel room where one of her relatives was staying. PTI SSJ ARI