A 25-year-old naval officer carrying a bag sparked panic at the Hazrat Nizamuddin Metro station on Wednesday morning when he refused to undergo a security check, pointed at his bag and shouted, “Ismein bomb hai, pakad sakte ho pakad lo ( There is a bomb in this. Catch me if you can).”

Officers said the station had to be partially cordoned off for the public till the dog squad and bomb detection teams arrived and cleared the man’s bag as non-threatening. The man was let off after a Rs 500 fine and a written apology. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) did not clarify the man’s rank.

According to a CISF officer, the incident took place around 8am, when the navy officer entered the Metro station and headed towards the baggage screening machine. When the CISF officer at the screener spotted some “doubtful” images on the screen, he asked the man to open the bag for a manual check.

“To this, the man denied opening the bag and shouted — ‘Ismein bomb hai, pakad sakte ho pakad lo’. On hearing this, the shift in-charge of the CISF alerted the quick reaction teams and the bomb disposal squad . The man was frisked thoroughly but nothing suspicious was found.

He was briefly detained by officials and was brought to the station’s control room while the area in which his bag was lying was cleared,” an officer not authorised to speak to the media said.

The dog squad was also called to the spot to check the officer’s bag.

“When the bomb detection team and our dogs cleared the bag, it was opened and nothing suspicious was found. The officer then gave a written apology and was charged a fine of ₹500 for creating a nuisance. We did not note his designation,” the officer added.

In a similar incident reported on Thursday at Rohini Sector 18 Metro station, a 48-year-old serving lieutenant colonel, a resident of Malviya Nagar, refused to undergo a security check and shouted “I am not carrying a bomb”.

Officers said the incident took place around 5.45pm. “At the security check area, when our officer asked him about the articles which he was carrying in his bag, he got furious and said — “I am not carrying any bomb in it. How dare you ask me…I am an army officer.” After this, the man was frisked thoroughly and taken to the station’s control room, where he was asked to pay a ₹500 fine, after which he was let off,” the officer said.

First Published: Mar 16, 2019 06:18 IST