Security and airport officials went into a tizzy after a “grenade-like” object was found in the registered baggage of an Ahmedabad-bound flight at the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) near here Saturday evening.
Sources in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which provides airside security at the airport, told The Hindu that the airline security staff handling the X-ray machine detected the suspicious object in the registered baggage, to be loaded on an IndiGo flight, and alerted the CISF officials.
It was initially suspected to be an explosive device and the entire airport was put on an alert. The Bangalore City police were also informed.
However, the Bomb and Grenade Detection Squad examined the object and certified that it did not contain any explosive material and did not pose a security threat, the sources said.
The passenger, an employee of a factory in Bangalore, had found the object on the factory premises and had casually tossed it into his bag, a senior police official said. However, no case was registered.
CISF sources said although the passenger was detained for interrogation, the flight took off on time.
They rubbished reports that the baggage screening and check-in process were delayed.
