New Delhi: A "human bomb" could attempt to hijack a plane in India, intelligence agencies have warned, prompting security forces to seek state-of-the-art body scanners.
"There is a real possibility of a terrorist inserting RDX or plastic explosives or even a knife into his skin," a top official of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) said.
CISF protects 54 of India's main airports. Intelligence agencies also warned that airports and dockyards were "targets number one" for militants.
CISF has asked the government to allow installation of human body scanners at 16 airports in the country categorised as "hypersensitive".
"Traditional scanners cannot look under the skin so we have decided to go for body scanners," the official explained.
These scanners use advanced X-Ray technology to draw a skeletal image of a human body and are considered "fool-proof".
Earlier this week, the police had said that three suspected terrorists arrested in Aurangabad in Maharashtra with a huge cache of weapons and explosives, were planning to attack India's largest seaport, the Kandla Port.
The use of body scanners has come in for some criticism in the West as passengers have complained that it amounts to a strip-search and violates their privacy.
The CISF official said his agency planned to address such concerns by using officers of the same gender to scan passengers.
"In any case, it's better than manual frisking. No one will touch your body. All you need to do is pass through this scan and board the aircraft," he reassured.
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