(CNN) – A California man who “feared going home because of Covid” lived undetected at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport for three months, according to multiple reports.
Aditya Udai Singh, 33, was arrested Saturday morning in O’Hare local time and charged with impersonation in a restricted area of the airport and theft of less than $ 500, Chicago police confirmed to CNN.
Singh is said to have been arrested after being approached by two United Airlines employees who asked for his identification. He then reportedly showed them an airport ID badge belonging to an operations manager who reported him missing in late October.
Assistant state attorney Kathleen Hagerty said in court that Singh claimed “afraid of going home because of Covid” and that other passengers had supplied him with food. according to the Chicago Tribune.
At the usually busy Chicago O’Hare Airport, passenger traffic has dropped sharply due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Scott Olson / Getty Images
Cook County Judge Susana Ortiz expressed surprise at the unusual circumstances of the case, the newspaper reported.
“So if I understand you correctly,” said Ortiz, “you are telling me that from October 19, 2020 to January 16, an unauthorized, non-employee would have lived in a secure area of the O’Hare airport terminal. 2021, and was not detected? I want to understand you properly. “
Assistant Public Defender Courtney Smallwood told the court that Singh is a resident of the Los Angeles suburb of Orange and has no criminal background, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Singh’s bail is said to have been set at $ 1,000 on the condition that he does not re-enter O’Hare Airport and is due to appear in court on January 27.
CNN has contacted Cook County State Attorney’s Office and Chicago Department of Aviation for comment.