Hyderabad: A tipsy air passenger put the CISF and the Shamshabad police on alert during the busy morning hours by claiming that he had overheard a conversation of a bomb being planted inside an Indigo aircraft bound for Chennai on Saturday.
This triggered a scare and the airport was immediately put on alert. The CISF bomb disposal team inspected two flights that were bound for Chennai at that time. After hours of checks, the police found nothing amiss. The passenger, K.V. Vishwanath, 24, working as a sales executive with a firm based in Secunderabad, was arrested.
The incident occurred hours before the arrival of BJP president and Union home minister Amit Shah, which added to the tension.
Sources said Vishwanath was scheduled to board a Truejet flight 2T201 to Chennai at 6.30 am. He reached the airport at 1 am and headed to a bar.
Minutes after he collected his boarding pass, Vishwanath informed the airline staff that he overheard a conversation in the smoking zone about a bomb being planted on the Indigo flight bound for Chennai, referring to Flight 6E 88.
The CISF bomb disposal team was rushed to two aircraft that were bound for Chennai at that time, the Trujet and the Indigo flights. After searches, the team found nothing.
A Shamshabad police officer told Deccan Chronicle, “When the CCTV cameras were checked, we found no person inside the smoking zone. Thus there is no scope for Vishwanath to have overheard a conversation. Also, he was under the influence of alcohol. During questioning, he was found in a drunken state. He said he was disturbed owing to personal issues.”
Police booked Vishwanath for an unlawful act against safety of civil aviation and secured his remand.
CISF briefs Amit Shah on airport security
BJP president and Union home minister Amit Shah held a meeting with CISF officials, who guard the Shamshabad airport when he arrived in the city on Saturday. This was his first meeting with CISF officials after taking charge as home minister in May.
Additional Director General M.A. Ganapathy and newly-appointed Chief Aerodrome Security officer Sachin Badshah briefed Mr Shah about the security measures. CISF officials explain-ed to Mr Shah about the newly-acquired facial recognition system. The Shamshabad airport is first in the country to have facial recognition equipment. Under the tagline ‘your face will be your boarding card’, the system enables quick entry into the airport.
Besides, a detailed presentation on the role of the CISF in aviation security and technology upgradate at the ASG Hyderabad followed by a short film on the CISF was made.
Mr Shah visited the CISF unit line and administrative building. He inspected the technical initiatives for passengers like e-boarding system, automatic tray retrieval system and express security check-in.
