Bomb scare at Kolkata airport, searches underway
Kolkata: A bomb threat, written on tissue paper, was found at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata on Friday and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and a bomb squad were carrying out an intensive search of the premises for any suspicious object, officials said.
Even as the airport is now more crowded than usual at the end of the Durga Puja holiday, the cleaning staff reportedly found a handwritten note in the women’s restroom within the airport, warning that a bomb had been planted at Gate Number 30.
According to sources aware of the development, the workers panicked after seeing the note, written on tissue paper, and immediately brought the matter to the notice of the higher officials.
Security personnel quickly cleared the crowd from that particular entrance, and a search operation was conducted there by the bomb squad and the CISF personnel, as well as elsewhere within the airport premises.
However, nothing suspicious had been found so far by the CISF troopers and personnel of the Airport Police Station, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Bidhannagar City Police in North 24 Parganas district.
The police are currently questioning the cleaning staff who first spotted the note, and investigating who was near the toilet before or after that and who used the toilet during that period.
CCTV footage is also being checked.
Security at the airport premises has been beefed up following the incident. However, there are no reports of any impact on flight services yet.
This is the second hoax bomb scare alert at the Kolkata Airport this month. On October 8, the airport authorities received a similar threat through an email. However, at that point, nothing suspicious was detected after a thorough search operation within the airport premises.