Three quizzed over crude bomb in flight

BANGALORE/THIRUVANANATHAPURAM - Three former employees of the Kingfisher airlines have been questioned in connection with the detection of an explosive device on a flight at Thiruvananthapuram March 21, police said Friday.

“Three people who were former employees of the airline were asked to appear before the Kerala police and they did. Right now we don’t have anyone in custody but investigations are going on,” Inspector General of Police A. Hemachandran told IANS.

The three, all from Kerala, were taken into custody at Bangalore International Airport Thursday when they were to take a flight to Dubai. “They were then taken to Kerala and then let off,” he said.

Bangalore north-east division Deputy Commissioner of Police Basavaraj Malagatti told IANS that the three told police that they were working with Kingfisher airlines but had left the company as they got jobs abroad.

The explosive device was found in the cargo section of the Kingfisher plane after it landed in Thiruvananthapuram from Bangalore. The flight had 27 passengers and four crew members.

After the passengers and the crew deplaned, a routine security check of the aircraft led to the detection of the device wrapped in school question paper and Malayalam newspaper.