SriLankan Airlines plane searched in Colombo over intel on presence of Pahalgam suspects

A comprehensive security search of a SriLankan Airlines flight, which travelled to Colombo from Chennai city in southern India, was undertaken on Saturday following a tip-off from India that it was carrying six suspects believed to be involved in the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 that left 26 people dead.

Flight UL 122, operated by aircraft 4R-ALS, arrived in Colombo from Chennai at 11:59 am on Saturday, and underwent a comprehensive security inspection upon arrival, reported Daily Mirror Online quoting the airlines.

SriLankan Airlines flight UL122 was searched after it arrived in Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport.

Security measures were initiated after Chennai Airport authorities received a threat email claiming that five Lashkar operatives were on board a SriLankan Airlines flight, reported India Today.

The threat mail, classified as ‘non-specific’, was received by the Chief Security Officer at 11.05 am, which mentioned, “Five South Indian males on UL 122 (9.55am) are Lashkar operatives. Clean profile, well-trained, no suspicion”.

Sri Lankan authorities search flight

According to reports, local security authorities conducted the search operation of the flight.

However, no suspicious person or activity was found on the flight.

No suspicious individuals or activities were found, as the message later turned out to be a hoax, officials told India Today.

The flight was cleared for further operation after the inspection was thoroughly performed.

Pahalgam attack

Twenty-six people, including 23 Hindu male tourists, were killed by terrorists in Baisaran meadows, a popular destination in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, on April 22.

The terrorists- belonging to The Resistance Front (TRF), which is an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)- asked the victims to chant Islamic verses (kalma) and made them pull down their pants to be sure of their their non-Muslim religious identities (read circumcision) before gunning them down before their families, including wives and children.