:: 08/03/2010 :: Airport Parking News
Monday, 8th March 2010
Two plane spotters are expected to return back to the UK after being fined for illicitly monitoring aircrafts flying in India. Both railway workers in Bristol – Stephen Hampton, 46, and Steven Ayres, 56 – were arrested in New Delhi on suspicion of spying after requesting a room at Radisson Hotel that overlooks the runway of Indira Gandhi Airport.
Indian investigators found that the Britons are in possession of high-powered binoculars, laptop, cameras and radar-scanning equipment. But the two insisted that the equipment were used for plane spotting, a kind of hobby not common in India.
Their arrest on 15 February happened just days after an explosive blew at a German bakery in Pune, a city located in the central state of Maharashtra. The bombing incident, which left 9 people dead, was the first major blast in India since the Mumbai assault in November 2008.
Last weekend, both men were charged by violating the Indian Telegraph Act. They admitted the accusation and were fined £362 each. Hampton and Ayres luckily avoided spying charges which can carry an imprisonment term in India for at least 10 years.
Rajeev Awasthi, the lawyer of the accused, informed that the travel restriction on the Britons is now being lifted. The two are now also free to go home. It is anticipated that Hampton and Ayres will fly back to the UK on Wednesday.
Ayres' wife, Dorothy, was overjoyed with the news but she is still worried with her husband. Meanwhile, Hampton's mother, Eileen, could no longer wait to see him back home.
