Shooting scare at New Delhi airport

All the major airports across India have been turned in to fortresses following perceived threats.

The jitters created a security scare at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport in the early hours of Friday, and triggered panic among passengers and sent security officials into a tizzy.

The chaos began when a sound similar to gunshots were reportedly heard from the facility.

The control room of the CISF received a call at around 1.10 am IST from passengers that they heard sound of gunshots from the vicinity of Gate 4 of international departure lounge of the airport.

The security was immediately stepped up but police could not ascertain the cause and the nature of firing. "We received a call that some passengers heard a sound similar to two gunshots, but there were no eyewitnesses. No evidence has so far come up to suggest that it was a firing and we cannot confirm it as a gunshot," DIG, CISF Udayan Banerjee said.

There is speculation that the initial "cracks" heard could have been a plastic bottle or tetra-pak coming under the wheels of some vehicle.

Post the 26/11 carnage, some pranksters are taking cheap thrills by attempting panic amongst an already jittery public.

But to re-iterate, everything at Delhi and across India is normal. Do not give in to "FUD".

-- Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt.

Images courtesy AP