An Indian man has been arrested and also charged in connection with the security breach at LaGuardia Airport, New York, which led to the evacuation of a busy terminal at the airport earlier in this week.
The man, identified as a 41-year-old Phani Kumar Varanasi, had entered into the secure area of Terminal B at the airport through a guarded exit on 23rd May. He told the police that he was confused about where to go and also had wandered into the restricted area of the Terminal B.
His act had caused a security scare in the airport, which led to the evacuation of busy terminal, said a report in the New York Daily News.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said that Varanasi, who has no criminal records, has spent five minutes in the “sterile area” before returning to the public area through the same exit.
The report said that Varanasi, a general manager at the India-based manufacturing firm, was flying into the New York from Detroit when the incident happened. He was identified by the police through surveillance video and also through a list of passengers aboard the flight.
A video obtained by the Daily News showed that Varanasi was walking directly into the secured area of the airport and past a TSA security employee at the desk.
The federal agency said that appropriate action will be taken against the TSA security employee, who had not stop Varanasi from going into the restricted area at the terminal. Varanasi was due in the Queens Criminal Court for a hearing on the criminal trespass charge, added the report.
The Republican lawmaker Peter King called for the full investigation and also explanation on how Varanasi was able to walk unchecked through the security guard from the airport’s baggage claim to the restricted area.
“We have to be constantly on our guard, and the breach at LaGuardia has to be explained and corrected,” King tweeted.
The report also said that the police contacted Varanasi to come in for an interview at the LaGuardia and then arrested him after he voluntarily appeared.
Six Indian-Americans Charged In IRS Phone Scam
Mrudula Duddempudi.
