Bomb squad pressed into service in KIA

‘Police were not involved in checking vehicles since BIAL has its own bomb detection experts’

The bomb squad at the Kempegowda International Airport was pressed into service on Tuesday after an alert from the police about a vehicle laden with explosives possibly being used for an attack.

The alert came to the airport operator Bangalore International Airport Ltd. (BIAL) from the airport police and the bomb squad had been deployed to check vehicles parked in the parking area as well as arriving vehicles, a source in BIAL said. Security has been tightened at the airport.

“The police were not involved in checking of vehicles since the BIAL has its own experts in bomb detection,” the source said.

It is learnt that the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security has put all airports in south India on high alert for a possible attack by terror groups.

The source said that it was a general alert and the airport authorities had also been alerted. “The alert mentions of a possible attack on the airport using vehicle laden with bombs and hence we have stepped up vigil,” the source said.

Asked if the alert came in the light of the blast in Bangalore-Guwahati Express in Chennai Central Railway Station on May 1, the official said the alert they received did not mention the blast.

A senior official in Central Industrial Security Force, which is responsible for airport security, did not comment.

Joint Commissioner (Law and Order – West) S. Ravi denied rumours that he received a call regarding the threat to the airport.

“After the recent blast at the Chennai Central Railway station, routine checking at the airport has been intensified. This additional checking may have raised suspicions about a threat at the airport and thus been misinterpreted.”