Sri Lanka police search Chennai flight after tip-off on Pahalgam terror suspect
Local authorities carry out search following alert from Chennai Area Control Centre regarding a suspect linked to the Pahalgam attack
A Sri Lanka Airlines flight landing in Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport from Chennai was searched by Sri Lankan Police on Saturday (May 3) following a tip-off that a suspect linked to the Pahalgam terror attack might be on board, a spokesperson of the Sri Lankan police said.
According to a statement issued by the Sri Lankan Airlines the flight 4R-ALS, which arrived in Colombo from Chennai on Saturday (May 3), was subjected to a “comprehensive security search” after landing.
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Search conducted after alert from India
The statement also said that the search was carried out following an alert from the Chennai Area Control Centre regarding a terror suspect being on board the flight.
“The search was carried out in coordination with local authorities following an alert from the Chennai Area Control Centre regarding a suspect wanted in India who was believed to be on board”, the statement said as quoted by PTI.
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Five terrorists identified
India has identified five terrorists — including three Pakistani nationals — behind the massacre in Pahalgam. Earlier Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack and their backers will be given “unimaginable punishment”.
The PM in a high level meeting on April 29 with the chiefs of defence forces said that armed forces have "complete operational freedom" to decide on the mode, targets and timing of India's response to the terror attack, said government sources as quoted by PTI.
Following the terror attack, India has imposed a series of punitive diplomatic measures on Pakistan including keeping the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance and banning all kinds of imports from Pakistan. Pakistan has responded with barring Indian airlines from using its airspace.
(With inputs from agencies)