A non-terror plot’s unintended victim

A 32-year-old proprietor of an event management firm who was arrested for releasing balloons that flew into Mumbai airport’s airspace is so troubled that he has gone for a pilgrimage. Immediately after securing bail, Kunal Shah went to Shirdi in Maharashtra, leaving his cellphone behind and asking a friend to speak on his behalf. “He is not a very religious person,” says Naytik Kamdar, the friend. “He told me he won’t be back till he finds some peace.”

Five unidentified objects were found flying across the Mumbai airport airspace on 23 May. The Air Traffic Control (ATC), the police and several departments, from the Indian Air Force to the Intelligence Bureau, were pressed in to investigate. One aircraft had to turn around and another had to abort take- off. As news of the alleged violation began to circulate, some feared that these might be parachute drops. Shah was arrested three days later. He had been hired to organise a cricket match between employees of a diamond export company and four banks at a playground near the airport. The five balloons the names of the companies.

Shah learnt of the panic but dismissed the idea of his balloons having caused it because some reports said the mystery objects appeared to be remote-controlled. “People have released balloons and burst firecrackers on that ground before. Nothing has ever happened,” Kamdar says.

A police officer who requests anonymity says Shah has been booked on such counts as endangering the safety of others. “It is up to the court now. Either he will be let off with a fine and a warning. Or maybe something stricter, so that people realise that releasing balloons near an airport isn’t done,” he says.

Since the incident, says Kamdar, Shah’s life has turned upside down. “He has never seen the inside of a police station before. He might quit this profession. He is never going to touch a balloon again.”

event managerKunal ShahMumbai airportpublicity balloons