Who drank the PM's whiskey?

Whiskey bottles on Manmohan Singh's flight stolen!

BY A CORRESPONDENT
July 24, 2006

Air India security officers are looking into a possible case of theft on the part of Air India's cabin crew and pilots during a flight headed for Germany carrying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on the latter's special aircraft. The PM was flying to Berlin, following a summit in Hanover, when security agencies discovered that the seal on one of the cabinets on board had been tampered with.

Subsequently, having clarified that nothing had been planted, and that there was no threat to the PM, it was discovered that a few bottles of whiskey were missing. Meanwhile, 29 bottles of whiskey were found in the crew's baggage, out of which at least 5 bottles were in the pilot's baggage alone.

The incident found strong comments in Civil Aviation Secretary Ajay Prasad, who took exception to the delay in the vigilance probe, and told the Hindustan Times, "The Air India management takes two months to send a note to the ministry on the serious security lapse that took place on a VIP flight." He also wrote to Air India saying, "It is
indicative of the fact that such matters are not taken seriously."

The airline's management responded by saying that the vigilance report would be available shortly and that "stern action" would be taken accordingly. The captain on board was Naresh Kumar Beri. Civil aviation authorities are asking for the suspension of all those involved, but the airline is reportedly fighting the issue.