Stowaway had called up home,wept he hadnt eaten in 2 days

On Saturday,the Jaipur police called up Hussains niece Manjum around 10 am and told her he was in their custody. They let us speak to him. We could not talk much but he confirmed he was in Jaipur and needed help, said Manjum. On Sunday morning,Manjums father and Habibs elder brother Jalauddin left for Jaipur.

Trying to explain how Hussain,who was employed with a Saudi Arabian ground handling agency,managed to hide himself on the Haj flight,Air India officials admitted on Sunday that the entry point to the aircraft may have been left unmanned. AI,it is learnt,had outsourced all security-related checks on its flights to this sector to a local Saudi agency,and the dereliction of duty and security breach are now set to be inquired into by the Civil Aviation Ministry.

The entry point to the plane is the last check against any unauthorised entry and is supposed to be manned by an airline security official at all times. The security supervisor at this point maintains a logsheet of the non-passenger movement,like that of the cleaning and catering staff,such as Hussain. He/she would have known that a ground handling employee has not reported back to the airport, a senior executive said.

Asked if the entry point was secured,AIs official spokesperson told The Indian Express: I dont think so. It is doubtful if any of AIs Haj flights from Saudi Arabia have a security supervisor at aircraft entry points,added another airline senior executive.

Curiously,the airline remained silent on the issue of outsourcing security and if it would initiate any action against the agency concerned,which is reportedly owned by an influential local.

Playing down the incident,AI said in a written statement on Sunday that Hussain did not pose any threat to the safety and security of the aircraft and the passengers,and that he carried a valid identity card enabling him access to the security-cleared zone.

Hussain has told the police he had little choice,with his Saudi Arabian employers withholding his wages and seizing his passport.

It was less than six months ago that the 26-year-old had left home for the Gulf. The small piece of land he cultivated and work at a brassware shop got him Rs 200 daily,barely enough for the couple and their two children,Azan (2) and Shahreen (5).

About a year back,one of Hussains relatives Imran,who lives in nearby Khera village,promised to send him abroad if he could arrange Rs 1.5 lakh. Hussain sold his ancestral land,buffalo and other possessions to raise the sum,promising his wife he would buy it all back with the money he made.

Hussain flew out from Mumbai around Ramzan,and the dream started souring soon after. He worked for more than 13 hours daily,but the wages reportedly were irregular.

Said Humsari: We dont know what he was doing,but he was very unhappy. He had no place to stay,he slept at a petrol pump or at a grocery shop,located far from the place where he worked. He is uneducated,and could not understand what was going on.

The family started getting desperate calls from Hussain for help to return home. He asked me to contact Imran. I told my husband,and Imran assured he would look into it, said Momina.

However,Imran washes his hands of the matter. Along with Habib,three more persons went to Jeddah on job visas, he says. I contacted the other three persons this morning and they said Habib returned because he was missing his family. I took money from Habib only to arrange the ticket and the visa. I have come to know that Habib sent money to his family twice.

He added that he had told Habib he would be working as a labourer at Jeddah airport and get 800 riyals a month. I am not in the business of sending people abroad. One of my friends in Mumbai who works in an agency asked me if anyone wanted to go abroad for work. So I contacted Habib and the others, Imran said.

It was his work with the ground handling agency that allowed Hussain access to the plane. Haj flights are normally quite chaotic and the cabin crew is under tremendous pressure. This particular aircraft,an Airbus 330,has seven toilets,of which some are located on the mezzanine floor,and perhaps Hussain was found in one of these. However,this does not absolve the crew of its basic responsibilities, said an AI executive.

The state-owned carrier is the only airline from India authorised to carry Haj pilgrims.

A Civil Aviation Ministry official said that some international carriers like Israels EL AL deploy seven-eight sky marshals along with security officials to secure all entry points to an aircraft.