Pune: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is responsible for security at the Lohegaon Airport, on Thursday held a mock drill jointly with the Pune police and the Indian Air Force (IAF), officials said. It was the first joint exercise by the three agencies of this kind.
Though the mock drill was a routine exercise, involvement of all three wings, CISF, Air Force and Pune police, triggered panic among passengers. For a while, passengers felt that there was a terror attack.
“This is not the first time a mock drill was conducted at the airport. The CISF, Air Force and Pune police want to make sure that the Pune airport is safe. The exercise will be held on a regular basis,” airport officials said.
During the mock drill, officials tried to capture a terrorist, who had entered the airport. All entry and exit points were sealed. The drill was done when there was no flight at the time.
“We did the exercise when there was no flight. We wanted to ensure that all passengers remain safe if something of the sort happened in the future. We are taking several measures, which I cannot disclose. There are certain issues here as we are surrounded by civilian residential colonies as well as a forest area. All military installations were put on alert. We are doing what can be done to the best of our ability,” said a senior official at the airport.
The officials were divided into three teams. One team was handling the terminal building’s inside area. One team was handling the security area and the third was handling the area outside the terminal building. The teams also conducted a mock drill outside the terminal building area. They demonstrated the capturing of a terrorist in chaotic traffic conditions.
