The Principal Secretary of the Environment Department, ML Meena, left the city on November 1 for Tokyo via Bangkok on a Thai Airways flight.

“I was carrying about Rs 10,000 and $700 in cash, which I had kept in a bag,” said Meena. However, according to the principal secretary, he discovered the money was missing from his luggage after he reached Tokyo.

“I was shocked to see that the cash was missing from my bag, but the lock was not tampered with,” said Meena.

After landing in the city on Tuesday night, Meena lodged an FIR with the airport police station.

Since Air India is the official handling agent for Thai Airways in Kolkata, the airlines officials were quick to point out a few technical errors on the part of the bureaucrat.

“If he was carrying the cash in a registered baggage, he should have declared it with the airlines. Moreover, he was traveling via Bangkok and the money could have been stolen anywhere. The safety strap on the luggage was also intact,” said an Air India official.