An "awful mistake" led to a New Zealand student being arrested by Indian police after rifle ammunition was found in his flight baggage, his father says.
Alex Harper, 21, from Havelock North in Hawke's Bay, sparked a security alert at Maharana Pratap Airport in Udaipur, northwest India, last Tuesday when .22 bullets were found in his hand luggage.
He was charged under the Arms Act and taken into police custody.
But his father Jack Harper told NZ Newswire on Monday that New Zealand consular staff and Indian officials had "pretty much" cleared up the matter after Alex's firearms licence had been couriered to the New Zealand High Commission in New Delhi.
He and his three travelling companions - all from Otago University - were expected to fly out from India on Wednesday or Thursday.
Alex had two .22 bullets - not three as had been reported earlier - in his sponge bag, Mr Harper said.
"We live on an orchard and he goes out with our dog and shoots rabbits, which are viewed as vermin around here," Mr Harper said.
"Somebody has popped the bullets in his sponge back unbeknownst to him. They were found in the lining."
Mr Harper said the Indian police "could not have been kinder" and he understood his son wasn't even put in cells while in their custody for one night.
"Even though it was an awful mistake or a horrible experience he could not have asked for better treatment by anybody."
Because the sponge bag was in Alex's checked-in luggage when he flew out of New Zealand, it had not been detected by security scanning at that stage.
NZN