NEW DELHI, 29 July 2006 — Two air hostesses and a man were detained after they gatecrashed into the Indian prime minister’s house in a luxury car, apparently intoxicated and wanting to meet the premier, police said yesterday. The security scare took place late on Thursday, in the full glare of TV cameras while Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was presiding over a Cabinet meeting inside.
TV pictures showed the car, with one of the air hostesses at the wheel, drive past security posts into the sprawling complex and reach an alighting point from where only visitors with appointments are escorted inside. The driver of the car blew kisses at the cameras after the prime minister’s security guards asked her to turn back. The car sped away before it was stopped near a Delhi market and its occupants detained, police said.
“We were just joking,” the girl driving the car later told TV channels. “We asked if we could meet the prime minister and he just let us in,” she said referring to a security guard. Police said they had yet to decide on pressing charges against the three. Security at the Indian prime minister’s house is among the tightest in New Delhi, as he is perceived to be a top target of Islamist militants fighting Indian rule in Kashmir and other insurgent groups elsewhere in the country.
The three were officially arrested yesterday and charged with criminal trespassing and impersonation, the private New Delhi Television reported. The women’s employer, Air Sahara, also fired them, Press Trust of India news agency said, quoting company president Alok Sharma. He said they had already been grounded for two months for indiscipline and absenteeism.
The incident was particularly ominous given the train blasts in Bombay earlier this month that killed more than 200 people. But Sanjaya Baru, the prime minister’s media adviser, insisted there was no breach. “People can come up to the reception area saying they have an appointment (with the prime minister). All those who have genuine appointments are allowed inside the reception and others are turned away,” PTI quoted Baru as saying. “So, there was no security breach.”
—Additional input from agencies
