Hours later,a bomb scare and the hunt for a mystery man who fled in car from airport

Santosh Kumar (50),told the CISF that he and his son Ankur Sharma (25),hitched a ride from Bhikaji Cama Place in a silver car (DL9CA 6034) driven by man who said he was Naresh Jain,a retired Air Force Wing Commander. The man apparently took them to T3’s departure gate 3,and as father and son got off the car,asked them to hold a large briefcase while he pulled up to the side and got off too.

However,according to what the two men told CISF,the driver of the car drove off,leaving them holding the bag. There was some confusion about the make of the car — CISF sources initially said it was a Santro,but late in the evening it emerged that the vehicle could have been another Hyundai model,the i10.

The police have launched a hunt for the car.

“The man just fled in his car,which raised suspicion. The dog squad and the bomb disposal and detection squad were immediately called in and the bag was put through explosives checks,which produced negative results. Nothing suspicious was found,” CISF spokesperson Rohit Katiyar said.

“As per the standard operating procedure,the bag was then taken to a cooling pit away from the airport in a total containment vessel,where it will stay for 24 hours,” Katiyar said.

Delhi Police Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI Airport) R A Sanjeev,however,said the bag had been opened,and been found full of clothes.

“There was another person with them (father and son),and they had all come to the airport to find part-time jobs. The wing commander told them he would come back after taking a round around the airport. We have opened the bag,which contains only clothes,” Sanjeev said.

The police are interrogating Santosh and Ankur,said a senior police officer.