Why a ‘tunnel’ under Ghaziabad's Hindon Air Base has sparked security concern

Was an attempt made to infiltrate the Hindon air base in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad? The discovery of a tunnel by locals under the air base has sparked security concerns. The Hindon air base is around 10 kilometres from east Delhi. Let’s take a closer look: What happened? As per NDTV, a four-foot tunnel was found under the boundary wall of the Hindan Air Base. The discovery was made by locals who informed the police. A team from the Indian Air Force is at the spot. Mud is currently being put in the hole. Photos of the tunnel show it was being dug after breaking the base of the Hindan Air Base’s boundary wall. The wall is around 20 feet tall, as per NDTV.

Hindon is the Western Air Command’s main base.

It also happens to be Asia’s largest air base. The base has often been used for forward operations. MIG-29s were placed on standby to defend the National Capital during 26/11, as per NDTV. It has also been used for humanitarian purposes like Operation Dost which provided relief material for earthquake-hit Syria and Turkey. As per Times Now Hindi, the tunnel has been dug close to Irshad colony. Local Anil Kumar told _NDTV, “_Many incidents of robbery have been reported in the last few days. On 7 December, I went to Muzaffarnagar to attend a wedding and a robbery took place in my house after that all the locals called a meeting to address the issue. A person named Gopal told us that there was a pit under the boundary wall of the air base. My brother and I went to the spot of other people and informed the police after discovering it.” As per Times Now Hindi, the Indian Air Force has lodged a complaint with the police. As per DNA, a case has been filed against unknown persons. As per the outlet, the Intelligence Bureau, the Anti-Terrorist Squad and military intelligence teams are looking into the matter on ‘high priority’. NDTV quoted Shubham Patel, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Trans Hindan Zone as saying, “A police team immediately reached the spot after receiving information and inspected the area with officials of the air force. A case has been registered and strict action will be taken against those responsible.” However, Patel told DNA the wall of the base remains whole. Police are examining CCTV footage, as per DNA. Defence minister Rajnath Singh in September, inaugurating a mega drone show at the Hindon Air Base, inducted the first C-295 aircraft into Indian Air Force. With inputs from agencies