The Yelahanka police arrested a 24-year-old man on February 4 at the Yelahanka Air Base for ‘suspicious activity’ just ahead of Aero India air show at the base.
According to the Yelahanka Police Inspector, the suspect was a part of the crew who were setting up stalls for the Air Show.
“He was a part of the crew that was roped in to construct the stalls for the exhibition of defence equipment for Aero India. On February 4, at around 9.30 pm, the authorities at the air base noticed the suspect talking to someone over the phone after all the crew members had left for the day. When the authorities at the base questioned him, they found that he was in possession of nine other sim cards,” the Inspector said.
The air base authorities then informed the Yelahanka police and he was arrested. The police are probing the incident.
While speculation in the media suggested that the accused was involved in terror activities, Bengaluru Police Commissioner, Praveen Sood, in a tweet said that the arrest had no terror angle.
“Please don’t carry uninformed news. There is no terror angle at all. Repeat, no terror angle at all,” the tweet said.
The air show will be held between February 14 and 18 this year.
In 2015, Aero India had exhibitors from 33 different countries with 326 foreign and 318 Indian companies participating in the show. The show also had 46 delegations from foreign countries.