Delhi airport bomb scare turns out to be security drill (Roundup)

The passengers were seated and the plane was readying for takeoff when the panic button was pressed - there was a bomb on board! Security agencies swung into action and passengers were made to disembark but in the end, it turned out to be a mock drill.

The bomb scare at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport Saturday was staged to check the preparedness levels of the various security agencies, an official said.

The drill on board Jet Airways' Delhi-Dhaka flight was conducted at the behest of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security.

Around 1 p.m., a man claiming to be outlawed ULFA leader Paresh Barua called up Jet Airways threatening to blow up the plane, which had 106 passengers on board.

"All the passengers were asked to disembark from the flight and it was thoroughly checked," said Rohit Katiyar, chief spokesman for the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) - the agency responsible for airport security - told IANS after the all-clear had been sounded.

"We were initially not aware whether it was a mock drill. We had deployed the emergency procedures as per the book," said Katiyar.

"The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security later informed us that it was a mock drill. Such drills are routine and are done to ensure and enhance security measures at the airport and to deal with worse situations if they occur," he added.

The preparedness and response of all stakeholders like the CISF, the Delhi Fire Service, the bomb disposal squad, the Delhi Police, the National Security Guard (NSG) and the Airports Authority of India was closely monitored during the two-hour drill.

Last updated on Dec 5^th, 2009 at 18:59 pm IST--IANS