UNIDENTIFIED BAGGAGE AT HYDERABAD - SHAMSHABAD RAJIV GANDHI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

It was the day after the twin blasts at Dilsukhnagar, Hyderabad. We were scheduled to board a flight from RGIA, Shamshabad.at 2.55 PM on 22^nd February 2013.  As we drove into the enclosure for departure it was evident that security had been beefed up. Documents of passengers were closely scrutinized by two security personnel before they were let in.

The terminal was crowded. Security arrangements were flawless. Though unobtrusive the security personnel were doing a great job.   We went for check in one hour before the flight.  There were several counters marked ‘all flights’.  There was a long queue at the first counter. The second and third counters were unmanned. Boarding passes were being issued from all the counters. When we spotted an official taking his seat at the third counter, my wife went there with our documents while I had kept my place in the queue at the first counter. The trolley with our baggage was with me. The official directed her to stick to the first counter. Meanwhile another official took up his seat at the second counter. As my wife was returning to join the queue along with me, the official asked her to present the documents. She waited at the counter while the official verified the records.

I saw an official in uniform making his rounds. He spotted a bag behind my wife. He went around asking everyone if it belonged to them. No one knew anything about it. It was unclaimed. The processing of our documents was over by that time.  The official asked us to deposit our check in baggage at the conveyer belt. I moved the trolley up to the counter and had deposited the baggage there. The trolley was inches away from the unclaimed bag.

As we waited there for our boarding pass a security official came up to me and politely asked me to move far away from that area with the trolley. While complying with his order I told him that we had not been issued our boarding passes. Noting our plight he advised me to wait outside the cordon where the passengers were meant to queue up. My wife waited at the counter for the boarding pass since she was not ordered out of the area.

As I was moving out of the area I saw security personnel converging there in strength. The unclaimed bag was cordoned off within seconds. The passengers queuing there were evacuated. They asked my wife to proceed to the spot where I waited. The officials at the first three counters were ordered to close the counters and vacate at once. Nothing was left to chance.

Time was ticking away. We wondered how we would board the aircraft without the boarding pass. The official did not abandon us. He sought us out and handed over the boarding passes and wished us bon voyage.

We went through the security check and waited for the call to board the aircraft. There were three more verifications before we could settle down into our seats.

The flight took of right on dot. As we were flying realization dawned on us that we were closest to the unidentified bag and if anything had gone wrong we would not have lived to tell the tale. We really admired the security personnel for their professionalism. They were courteous. They never had tried to put a scare into people though they were battling against heavy odds. They were unassuming. They kept us safe.

They remain unknown.