Congress functionary from Kerala detained with pistol, bullets at Coimbatore airport

A Congress functionary from Kerala was detained at Coimbatore International Airport on Tuesday morning after he was found in possession of an unlicensed pistol with live bullets.

Police said KSBA Thangal, 60, the vice president of Palakkad District Congress Committee (DCC) and former chairman of Pattambi Municipality was found in possession of an old pistol and seven bullets in his bag. It was found when the airport staff scanned his bag and informed the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel.

Thangal was going to Bengaluru and then to Amritsar. During the inquiry, Thangal said that the pistol belonged to his father and he was unaware of its presence in the bag.

He claimed that he mistakenly took the bag with a pistol while hurrying to the airport. However, he did not have valid documents for its possession. Thangal told police that he was bound to Bengaluru to make purchase orders for uniforms to students of a school run by him in Pattambi.

The CISF staff handed him over to Peelamedu police station and further inquiry is underway. Meanwhile, a group of BJP cadres staged a protest in front of Peelamedu police station demanding the police to invoke stringent sections against the Congress functionary.