IMD’s gadget lands in jail, creates flutter

CHENNAI: Spotting of an electronic device attached to a balloon inside Puzhal prison premises created a flutter on Sunday evening. However, officials said on Monday it was a deflated weather device from IMD, which flew into the prison compound.

The jail staff saw the device with a deflated balloon was spotted near the gate of block number 5 at around 6.30 pm on Sunday. Sources said there were electronic circuit board with a barcode number attached with a lithium battery, a white colour balloon, a wooden log, and a joined white colour rope.

Unable to understand what the unidentified object was, they were perplexed to find it inside the sterile prison premises. They immediately alerted the senior officers, who rushed to the spot and carefully shifted the item to a safe place, and also informed the local police station.

After the initial confusion, senior officers suspected that it could be a weather balloon. “When we enquired with the IMD officials about it, they confirmed that it was a weather balloon they used to gauge the climate condition. After checking the serial number, the IMD officials said it was indeed their balloon,” a senior jail official said on Monday.