The Mangaluru city police are looking into a possible link between the suspect who placed an improvised explosive at the international airport here and the person who made a hoax call informing the airport terminal manager of an explosive in a private aircraft.
As the process of defusing the explosive, found near the flight ticket counter, was under way on Monday afternoon, a caller informed the terminal manager of an explosive aboard an Indigo flight to Bengaluru. Following a through check of passengers, their baggage and the aircraft, the call was confirmed to be a hoax.
“We are trying to find whether there is a link between the suspect and the person who made the call to the terminal manager,” said Mangaluru Police Commissioner P.S. Harsha.
In a statement released to the media, Mr. Harsha said that the investigation team was looking at earlier cases of hoax calls made to different airports. “We are analysing the information and finding out whether the callers in those cases match the suspect in this case,” he said. One of the suspects is a person arrested in 2018 by the Bengaluru police for a threat call made to the Bengaluru airport.
Videos and pictures
The police are also looking at videos and photographs of persons resembling the suspect. “We are verifying the material sent by the public,” he said.
The police have seized the autorickshaw that reportedly ferried the suspect to the airport and questioned the driver. “We have questioned a number of suspects and carried out searches. We will soon find the person involved,” Mr. Harsha said.
The Bomb Disposal and Detection Squad (BDDS) of the State police has sent the remnants of the explosive substance for forensic examination. The BDDS officials feel the explosive substance was a crude one, the police officer said.
In a tweet, he said, “Mangaluru police are investigating the suspected explosive material recovered from MIA and subsequently disposed of, and has made progress on available leads. This is a very serious investigation and [we] appeal [to] all leaders of society to take a very responsible stand.”
Business as usual
At the airport, it was business as usual on Tuesday. Vehicles entering the airport were checked at the entry point, while Central Industrial Security Force personnel made regular rounds to check unclaimed baggage.
Members of the BDDS squad of the National Security Guard visited the place in the airport where the explosive device was defused. Officers from the Anti-Terrorism Squad and State and Central intelligence sleuths also visited the spot.
