Surprise check exposes security, even grenades make it to aircraft

In the Hyderabad incident, Gupta’s nephew, who works at the government explosive factory there, cleared security with a packet of detonators. He had made no attempt to conceal them and the detonators would have been detected even in a cursory security scan. Surprisingly, this was not done, and once he reached Delhi he reported the matter to Gupta who promptly ordered an investigation. “Even after the hijacking of IC-814, if this is the kind of security they are providing, it is shocking” an angry Gupta said.

At Ranchi airport the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) had ordered a surprise check to monitor the level of security at the airport. Under this drill, a Bureau official or a passenger is given a letter of authority from the BCAS to carry weapons on board an aircraft. On February 27, a person authorised by the BCAS managed to board an IA flight for Delhi with a long dagger and a hand-grenade in his hand baggage.

According to senior officials if the security measures that have been laid down had been followed, both objects would have been immediately detected. “There is no way that the dagger and the grenade would not show up on the scanner. Normally the presence of the grenade would have set off a red alert if the airport police were even nominally alert,” said a BCAS official.

Similar surprise checks have also been carried out at Jammu, Ahmedabad and Guwahati airports where sources say there was a problem with the X-ray machines. Gupta says currently airport security is being handled by the local police and state police and this will have to change.