On Sunday, Vijay Kumar Agarwal (28), a businessman, lost his expensive digital camera and some other valuables he had put in the checked-in bag at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

And, this is not a rare incident at airports, according to the police.

“There is a well-organised racket. At the X-ray machine, the airline staff see exactly what you are carrying. If there is anything valuable, they inform the baggage loaders about the specific bag. So, while the baggage is being loaded on to the aircraft, the security tape is tampered with and the valuables removed,” said a senior police officer.

Most of these cases go unreported, the police claim.

At the domestic terminal, the X-ray machines are manned by the airline’s staffers while at the international terminal, Indian Airlines staff handles the security check and loading.

Agarwal was coming from Srinagar on a Jet Lite flight; he was returning from a holiday with his wife and accompanied by another couple. “We had 10 bags and I carried (hand) bag which had my laptop, I-pod, movie camera and digital still camera. The airline staff told me at Srinagar that electronic items were not allowed as hand baggage so I handed them my bag too,” Agarwal told Newsline.

Agarwal said the an airline staffer had put a security tape on the baggage in front of him. On reaching Delhi, he said he found the tape broken and his digital camera missing.

“Jet Lite officers promised they would get back to me. But it has been two days since the incident and I haven’t heard from them,” Agarwal said.

The airline officials, meanwhile, shrug the case. “Our terms and conditions are printed on the ticket clearly saying that we cannot be held responsible for checked-in luggage,” said a Jet Lite spokesperson.

According to international rules, the airline is responsible only for the baggage which passengers declare to them. For other baggage, the airline pays a compensation of $10 per kg.