New Delhi:
Intelligence sources confirm to NDTV that a defused grenade was found on a plane kept on stand-by to fly Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United States last week.
However, national carrier Air India, which used the Boeing 747-400 to fly passengers from Mumbai to Jeddah via Hyderabad, said that the object found was "a plastic wrapper" and said that a committee of its top officials and security experts are searching for more details.
The plane was waiting to fly the PM to New York in case there was a technical glitch reported on his Air India One. After the PM took off, the plane was used for a regular commercial flight. Air India says, "Air India would like to clear that at no point of time was the safety of the passengers or the aircraft compromised." (
Read Air India's full statement)
But intelligence sources say after the plane landed in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, a suspicious object was reported to the airport officials. Sources say the "stun grenade" found is often used to help regain control in mob-like situations. The object is now with Saudi officials.
Sources in the National Security Guard (NSG), said that a drill was conducted at the airport on the night that the PM left, but are unclear on whether the plane that flew to Jeddah was included in the exercise, which was held to check the response of airport and airline officials to a possible emergency.
The NSG never uses any live ammunition during its exercises in aircrafts. The organization's aim is to eliminate all hostile elements inside an aircraft within 10 seconds of entering into the aircraft. Sources said that the NSG needs to exercise 1000 hours to revalidate its process and keep its commandos sharp and capable of removing terrorist and hostile elements within 10 seconds.