| diwas k |
Posted
on 06-Nov-01 04:47 PM
Investigation launched
into Chicago airport
security lapse
By Mike Robinson, Associated Press,
11/06/01
CHICAGO -- Shaken by what they described
as a major security breach, federal
transportation officials launched an
investigation into how a man carrying seven
knives, a stun gun and tear gas got through
an airport checkpoint.
Subash Gurung, a 27-year-old Nepalese
citizen in the country on an expired student
visa, was held without bond pending a
Thursday hearing on a federal felony charge
of attempting to board a jetliner with
weapons at O'Hare International Airport.
"The O'Hare failure was a case of dramatic
dimensions," Secretary of Transportation
Norman Y. Mineta told reporters on Monday.
Security employees at the checkpoint
Saturday night did confiscate two folding
knives that Gurung told them were in his
pocket. But they failed to notice seven other
knives, a stun gun and tear gas in his
carry-on luggage. They were discovered by
United Airlines workers who made a hand
search of his luggage at the gate.
Federal law enforcement officials said there
was no indication Gurung was involved in
terrorism, and in a statement the FBI said
reports that Gurung shared an address with
alleged terrorist suspects were not accurate.
Law enforcement officials said Gurung told
them he mistakenly packed the knives in a
plastic bag rather than his luggage before
leaving for the airport.
"The investigation does not seem to reveal
any illicit, suspicious or nefarious intent
about his trip to Omaha," said Randall
Samborn, a spokesman for the U.S.
attorney's office in Chicago.
The company that operates the security
checkpoints for United at O'Hare,
Atlanta-based Argenbright Security Inc., said
eight employees including one supervisor
had been suspended from duty pending an
internal company investigation.
Company spokesman Brian Lott said they
would be fired only if the investigation
showed that "there was wrongdoing."
Last month, the Federal Aviation
Administration and the Transportation
Department announced an audit of screeners
employed by Argenbright, which operates at
14 airports.
The company admitted last month it failed to
verify employees' backgrounds even after
being penalized $1.6 million and put on
probation last year for hiring people with
criminal records to staff security checkpoints
at Philadelphia International Airport.
Chicago police charged Gurung with two
misdemeanors and released him on bond
early Sunday. The FBI rearrested him on the
federal charge later Sunday when he
returned to O'Hare to retrieve his luggage.
The luggage that came back from Omaha
contained two more knives, one of them with
a seven-inch blade, the FBI said.
Gurung told WLS-TV in Chicago he collects
knives and the stun gun was for protection.
"I was living there in Chicago and I don't have
any friends at the time," he said. "Two years
I was completely alone there, totally
insecure and lonely there."
In court, Gurung's lawyer, Piyush Chandra,
declined to answer questions from reporters.
Lawmakers seized on the incident as
ammunition in the fight over whether the job
of securing the nation's airports should be
federalized as Democrats would prefer or
stay in private hands as President Bush
wants.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said
that if they were federal workers it would be
impossible to fire them, even if they were
guilty of a security breach, because they
would have job protection.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., said the
security system would never be as efficient
as it should be unless those running it were
federal employees "like the Customs
Service, like the FBI."
from www.boston.com
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note: at this point it is not known if Piyush Chandra is a court appointed attorney or not...-dk
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| SNepali |
Posted
on 07-Nov-01 10:09 AM
Thanks for posting it.
Do we have a Nepali lawyer who could throw more light on this case from the perspective of the defendent? I think we have a practicing lawyer by the name of Khagendra Chettri here in NY. He might be a good resource to let us know where the case stands and the process afterwards. Besides there might be others who are studying law at a university here in the US. I read in a report this morning that Subash will be needing a translator when the charges are heard at the court. This is where we can help a lot.
If there is a fund collected to clear Subash or send him home or reduce his punishment, whatever, I think it would be a worthy cause. I know there are many people who simply forgets things to do which could be some kind of disorder.
I would be happy to contribute to it. I think it is time that we showed that the Nepali community stands ready to serve its people in need.
Again, I appeal to Nepali organizations in North America to take a lead on this.
All of us whose pride get stimulated by these words like Gurkha, Everest, Buddha, it is time to react positively and help a Nepali in trouble from your inner heart. Let us set an example.
SJN
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