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Kathmandu Tuesday November 06, 2001 Kartik 21, 2058.
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Nepali arrested at Chicago airport
By Akhilesh Upadhyay
NEW YORK, Nov 5 – A Nepali man was arrested by
authorities at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport late Saturday for
attempting to carry knives and a stun gun on a United Airlines flight to Omaha, Nebraska.
Twenty-seven year old Subash Gurung was arrested by security
officers at the airport when they found nine knives in his possession. Gurung, who says he
is from Nepal, was charged with possession of weapon and attempting to board an aircraft
with weapon – both misdemeanour charges - but was freed on bond pending a court
appearance. He is slated to appear in court on December 19.
Meanwhile, CNN, which first reported the news, reported that
Gurung was re-arrested by the FBI, after being released earlier by local authorities,
officials said Monday.
It said FBI spokesman Ross Rice declined comment on why
Gurung had been released and then re-arrested.
According to CNN, Gurung could have some connection with two
men detained on September 12 in Texas as "material witnesses in the investigation
into the September 11 terrorist attacks."
Published reports stated that a security guard at O’Hare
International Airport found two knives in Gurung’s pocket and removed those before
allowing him to pass. But further checks revealed other seven knives and the stun gun in
his carry-on bag.
CNN reported that United Airlines immediately fired at least
two security screeners and a supervisor after the weapons’ discovery. The cable
channel also reported that, Gurung, in an interview to a local television station in
Chicago, said he was in a hurry and had carried the weapon in his bag by accident.
"He said he was on his way to Omaha to visit friends and that he had bought the
weapons in Chicago to protect himself," according to CNN.
Many Nepali students and families live in Omaha, Nebraska.
Though facing only misdemeanour charges, Gurung’s link with "material
witnesses" are also being explored by the media. They have set their sights on the
address Gurung gave authorities – an apartment in West Hollywood Avenue in Chicago
– which also happens to be the address listed by Ayub Ali Khan, a material witness to
the September 11 terrorist incidents currently being held by the FBI.
Meanwhile in Kathmandu, US Embassy officials refused to
provide details about Gurung’s arrest, saying only that they too were aware of his
arrest.
Robert C. Kerr, Director, American Center Public Affairs
Officer, told The Kathmandu Post that since law enforcement agencies in the US were
working on the case, the Embassy in Kathmandu would refrain from making any comments.
Another embassy official, who declined to be identified, when asked also refused to
provide Gurung’s visa details and his address in Nepal. "US laws bar disclosing
the address and other details," the official said. Officials at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs could not be reached for their reaction.
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