Yes, you can get arrested for throwing your power bank at the airport security check point, if it explodes and is mistaken for a hand grenade by the security personnel, as was the experience of this woman flier.
Here is how the events unfolded on Tuesday. A woman lost her temper when the security personnel, at the Indira Gandhi Airport, asked her to remove the power bank from the check-in bag because electronics are on the banned list of items. The woman reacted by smashing the power bank against the wall and it emitted smoke and spark.
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The security personnel mistook the power bank for a hand grenade and arrested the woman. A senior officer from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which handles security inside the airport, said the woman, identified as Malavika Tiwari, a resident of Defence Colony, arrived at the domestic terminal to board a SpiceJet flight to Dharamshala around 10.35 am.
The officer said Tiwari was called for a physical examination of her bag after finding something suspicious. “When her bag was opened, the device was found to be a battery bank. Since Bureau of Civil Aviation Security rules do not allow a passenger to carry power bank in check-in bagage, Tiwari was asked to keep it in her handbag,” the officer said.
She became irritated by the questioning. “The impact caused the device to burst,” the officer said. Assistant IG, CISF, Hemendra Singh, said, “At a place like the airport, no chance can be taken when it comes to passengers’ safety.”
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Malavika was charged under the sections 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) of the IPC. Deputy commissioner of police (IGIA), Sanjay Bhatia said Tiwari was released on bail.