Dummy stun-grenade on plane, probe on; Civil Aviation Minister contradicts Air India

NEW DELHI: Air India officials said an object discovered in an Air India’s Boeing 747 aircraft in Jeddah was just a plastic cover of a stun grenade, but aviation minister Ashok Gajapati Raju Pusapati said the object was indeed a stun grenade. “A plastic cover of a stun grenade used by security during the anti-terror drills carried out in a plane. It is a completely harmless object,” said a senior Air India official. As soon as the jumbo jet landed at the Jeddah airport, the flight crew informed the local security agencies, who took over the aircraft and conducted a thorough check. Following the incident, Air India has suspended the security managers of Mumbai and Hyderabad.