Abandoned briefcase triggers bomb scare at Amritsar airport, operation briefly suspended

Amritsar: A bomb disposal squad was called in at an airport in Amritsar after an abandoned briefcase was found at its parking lot on Wednesday morning.

The area has been cordoned off.

Operations at the Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport were briefly suspended. However, the area outside airport is still under the observation of security agencies.

Amritsar is just 40 km from the border with Pakistan.

On Tuesday, the airbase station in Pathankot, which had witnessed a terror attack last year, was put on high alert and a massive search operation was initiated in the area following intelligence input about the presence of suspicious men.

The joint operation of Punjab Police, the Army, the Air Force and the Himachal Pradesh Police was launched following the intelligence input, Pathankot SSP Nilambari Vijayjagdale had said.

Without divulging much information, she said the search operation was part of precautionary measures and more than 500 security personnel were engaged in it.

Last year, terrorists had sneaked in from across the border and attacked the airbase on the intervening night of January 1-2 while Dinanagar in Gurdaspur was targeted on July 27 in 2015.