Homemade power bank sparks bomb scare at IGI

Mistaken as an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) — a self-made battery bank, built from clay and batteries with wires — sparked panic and suspicion at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport on Thursday as it arrived through mail at the cargo terminal. The parcel was checked by bomb disposal squad and handed over to Delhi Police for further probe.

According to the officers, the suspicious image was detected at the Indigo domestic cargo terminal around 5.10 pm on Thursday. The screener of a cargo company detected a suspicious image in the X-ray baggage scanning machine at Celebi Domestic cargo terminal of Indigo airlines.

"Checking revealed that the cargo consignment was booked through Indian postal mail by one Sky shop in east Delhi's Laxmi Nagar area. As mentioned on it, it was to be delivered to one Prafulla Sonowalji in Tinsukia, Assam. The consignment was booked to travel to Dibrugarh by an IndiGo flight 6E-59," the officer said.

Security officers at the cargo terminal alerted CISF, Bomb Disposal and Detection Squad (BDDS) who then carried out enhanced checking of the parcel with the help of an explosive vapour detector and a dog squad which showed negative for a bomb, the officer said.

"The cargo consignment was physically checked by BDDS and the suspected item was found to a power bank which was improvised by using clay. The consignment also contained a rechargeable torch and was handed over to Delhi Police for further course of action," he said.

On Friday, in a similar incident, another power bank was detected as a suspicious item at the airport following a detailed frisking of the passenger who was carrying it.

"The passenger, Muhammad Firoz Shabbir Saihk, who had arrived to take a flight to Pune, had to be offloaded by concerned airlines staff due to security reason. He was later taken to Delhi Police for further action," an
officer said.