Mangaluru, Sep 19: Within hours after a passenger was detained at Mangaluru International Airport on Tuesday for carrying a mobile power bank in his luggage, mass media across the world issued a “terror alert” claiming that a “cellphone bomb” was found.
According to sources, security officers at the Airport discovered a “suspicious object” hidden in baggage. The passenger who was carrying the baggage was immediately detained and handed handed over to the CISF personnel for further examination around 9.30 p.m. The CISF team examined the device for nearly an hour and found it to be a non-explosive substance.
“The detained passenger had booked a ticket on IndiGo’s flight 6E877 from Mangaluru to Bangaluru on Tuesday. He was then supposed to travel from Bangaluru to Dubai on IndiGo flight 6E95 Wednesday (September 20) at 7.20 am,” a senior official said.
"While screening his checked in baggage, the screener noticed that a power bank was in his bag which looked suspicious (as it showed a green colored thick image). The screener did a physical check and opened the power bank to check and noticed a clay like substance in the power bank,” he said.
However, a controversial tweet by the airline IndiGo not only caused panic among air passengers but also misled many news agencies.
"IndiGo's alert security screener staff at Mangalore caught a suspect carrying alleged cellphone bomb today,” tweeted the airline.
Within minutes, prominent Indian television channels like Republic TV and Times Now broke the “cellphone bomb” news. Many international news agencies too fell prey to the hoax bomb scare.
Airport director V V Rao clarified that he had no information about the discovery of “cellphone bomb”. However, he confirmed that a passenger was detained at the Airport for questioning.
Meanwhile, Mangaluru City Police Commissionerate T R Suresh clarified that the seized object was mere a locally made power bank. “After a thorough check, the passenger was allowed to proceed,” he said.
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