Defused grenade on PM Modi's standby plane: Security experts for thorough probe

Security experts have raised serious concerns over reports of an explosive being found on a standby plane for Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his trip to the United States and said a serious enquiry must be done in the matter.

Wing Commander (Retd.), Praful Bakshi, said the qualification of whoever takes care of Prime Minister Modi's security should be checked.

"This is a very shocking incident; it is one of the most serious security lapses one can think of. In the top VVIP aircraft of a person, an explosive like this is found, whether it is defused or not, is another story. Now, the question arises, how come this incident happened, who is responsible for it, the enquiry has to go on," Bakshi told ANI.

"Firstly, are the people running the security show properly trained, do their training and background justify the position they are holding, and secondly how many agencies are involved in it, a proper enquiry should be done," he added.

Captain S S Panesar, who retired from the Indian Airlines as Director of Flight Safety and Director of Training, said information such as the hand marks on the grenade, when was it made, where was it made and at what stations the aircraft flew can establish who placed the grenade and when.

"It has been found that this defused grenade was found near Jeddah, but the security personnel need to find out where did it land before Jeddah and ask them about the security. Other ways to find out are fingerprints on the grenade, the number printed on it, which can tell from where it came, was it a toy or a real grenade, all these things need to be found out," he told ANI in Gurgaon.

Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi, however, said the required information over reports of suspected object being found on the Prime Minister's standby plane will be given at the right time.