First-time flyer holds up flight with bomb hoax alarm
Times of India | 11 November 2024
12 Kolkata: A first-time flyer waiting for his boarding call at the security hold area of the airport was apprehended by CISF and handed over to police after he raised a false alarm about a suspected time bomb inside the handbag of an IndiGo staff member who sat next to him and had already boarded a Chennai-bound flight.
Because of the alert, a Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) was formed, which off-boarded all passengers of the Chennai-bound flight and thoroughly checked the flight as well as the passenger luggage before realising it was a hoax. The Chennai-bound flight, which was supposed to fly out at 3 pm, finally left Kolkata airport at 6.19 pm and reached Chennai at 9 pm.
Cops said the passenger, a resident of Lucknow, sounded mentally unstable and was accompanied by two of his family members.
The man who made the alert was stopped from boarding an Agartala-bound flight. He and his family members were booked in and were being questioned about the reason behind the act. Airport authorities later lodged a complaint against him and handed him over to NSCBI airport police station. They were at the police station facing interrogation till late on Sunday.
A senior cop said the man did not seem to have perfect mental health. "We are consulting doctors to check his state of mind. His family members have also said that he is under treatment," said the officer.