NEW DELHI: A suspicious object was found near the National Media Centre in New Delhi on Monday leading to panic in the area. However, it turned out to be a dummy check conducted by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and other agencies to check the alertness of their personnel. A toy-shaped object wrapped in polythene was placed outside the media centre, barely few metres from the Parliament, to examine the response of security personnel to any bomb scare, officials said.
According to the Delhi Police, a CISF team was examining the area around 10 am when they spotted a suspicious object. “Today at around 10 am, CISF team was checking the outside area of National Media Centre. They observed a toy-shaped item wrapped in polythene. Immediately local police was informed. Bomb Disposal Squad team of CISF checked the item thoroughly and explosive was ruled out,” Delhi Police said.
“The BDS of CISF and new Delhi district of police thoroughly searched the area for any other suspicious article in the vicinity. Nothing else was found,” a senior police officer said.CISF officials later said it was a mock drill. “It was a dummy check conducted by our government building security (GBS) unit to check the response of our teams to such threats,” CISF chief spokesperson DIG Anil Pandey said.The CISF, which reports to the Home Ministry, is tasked with providing security cover to government facilities and infrastructure projects, and key industrial units across the country.
‘Dummy check’ at high-profile venue
National Media Centre is a key venue for Centre’s press conferences and is managed by the I&B Ministry. It is situated on Raisina Road and is close to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament and central secretariat
(With PTI inputs)