Booked for trespassing at Jharkhand’s Deoghar airport, Nishikant Dubey says ‘took permission’

A day after an FIR was lodged against him and eight others, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Saturday denied allegations that he had “forcibly” taken clearance from authorities to take off from Jharkhand’s Deoghar airport on the night of August 31. Despite this, the airport did not have an overnight stay- facility to land or disembark. Dubey said he had taken permission from the airport authorities for his chartered flight, and alleged that Deoghar Deputy Commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri had filed a case against him “deliberately”.

“We had taken permission from the airport authorities. Does the government work on the instructions of an MP? The airport is under the Airports Authority of India, air traffic control clearances are monitored by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, and security is under the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security. An FIR has also been registered against the airport director… why? The Deoghar Deputy Commissioner knew that an FIR would not stand before the High Court because if anything happens at the airport, the director in charge is there,” Dubey was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Following the incident, Bhajantri wrote to the Civil Aviation Ministry alleging a “safety protocol violation” and called for necessary action. “It is also requested that the incident may be reported to AAI, DGCA, BCAS, General Secretary, Lok Sabha, and Ministry of Defence,” he wrote according to ANI.

Jharkhand Police has filed an FIR against Dubey, his two sons, MP Manoj Tiwari, Deoghar airport director, and others for allegedly forcing authorities at the airport to take off their chartered flight on the night of August 31.

“We had taken permission from the airport authorities. The CCTV footage shows that I was going barefoot, so my son followed me with my shoes and asked me to wear the same,” Dubey also said, reported ANI.