New Delhi: A 60-year-old businesswoman from Uzbekistan, Mayramkan Karabasheva Alibaevna, has been arrested for allegedly stealing three ladies’ handbags from the conveyor belt at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA).Police received a complaint on July 2 from a Gurgaon resident, alleging that three ladies’ handbags she purchased from Kuala Lumpur Airport went missing from the luggage conveyor belt on June 15 around 11 pm at Terminal 3. An FIR was registered under Section 303 (theft) of the BNS.Additional CP (IGIA) Usha Rangnani said, “During investigation, CCTV footage revealed that a foreign national woman was seen allegedly picking up the complainant’s handbags from the luggage conveyor belt. She was then seen hurriedly exiting the terminal premises and boarding a cab while carrying the stolen handbags.”“When police traced the cab owner, he said he dropped the suspect in central Delhi’s Paharganj area. Using a still image of her obtained from the CCTV footage, the hotel where the suspect stayed was identified. Police inquiry revealed that she checked out of the hotel the very next day and left for her country,” she said.Police identified the suspect as Alibaevna. Based on this information, a look out circular (LOC) was issued against her. Mayramkan was apprehended by immigration authorities at IGI Airport on July 18.During police interrogation, Alibaevna confessed to the crime and was arrested in the case. She disclosed that she runs a garment business in Tashkent and frequently visits India to purchase clothing for her business.According to police, on June 15, while waiting for her luggage at the airport, the businesswoman allegedly spotted the unattended handbags, picked them up, and exited the terminal. She then checked into a hotel in central Delhi’s Paharganj for her business stay. By the time police tracked her down after the complaint, she had already left for Uzbekistan. Based on information provided by her, all three stolen bags were recovered from a hotel room in Paharganj where one of her relatives was staying.
