The security agencies on Friday beefed up security both inside and outside the Mumbai Airport, following a security breach on Thursday when a ‘mentally ill’ person jumped over a wall and took a stroll under a a Spicejet aircraft.
As the Spicejet flight SG-634 Boeing 737 aircraft waited on the taxiway N1 to enter the runway for a take-off to Bengaluru, passengers and crew of the aircraft and others noticed an unauthorized person moving around on the ground below.
The man in question had on Thursday afternoon scaled the perimeter walls of the Mumbai Airport, jumped down, strolled nonchalantly around 50-metres to the taxiway, looked at the engine, touched the huge wheels and went around the undercarriage of the aircraft.
He waved at an airport jeep that reached the place to keep an eye on him. However, the security personnel did not step out of the vehicle to avoid getting too close to the aircraft engine.
Not satisfied, the man in question walked to the tail-end of the aircraft. He was later arrested by the security personnel present, minutes after he came on the scene. The incident was captured on CCTV cameras installed in the vicinity, while some passengers also shot the event through mobile phones.
Upon questioning, the apprehended intruder told the security personnel that he had entered the restricted zone “only to see the airplane” at close quarters. He was later identified as a ‘mentally ill person aged 24 years from Sion in north-central Mumbai. He had been caught claimbing atop a stationery BEST bus at Sion.
His family members told the police that he indulged in such questionable acts when he doesn’t take his medicines on time. He is suspected to have entered the airport by climbing on the mobile toilets lining the airport wall.
The security breach involving the “mentally-ill” person came two weeks after the Centre’s stringent directives on security matters in the wake of the scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution which will remain in force till August 31.