Late for flight, techie makes hoax bomb call to airline

New Delhi A passenger, who was getting late for his flight to Bangalore decided to delay the plane by making a hoax call about a bomb threat. The 25-year-old employee of Infosys has been arrested.

The GoAir flight G8201 to Bangalore, scheduled to depart from Delhi at 8:45 am, was delayed by over four hours by software professional Abhishek Gupta, a resident of Lucknow.

Senior airport officials said Gupta was coming to Delhi from Lucknow by the Gorakh Dham Express. The train was scheduled to reach New Delhi Railway Station at 5.55 am.

“But it was running late, and Gupta could reach the railway station only at 8:30 am,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Operations) Satyendra Garg. With 15 minutes in hand before the flight took off, Gupta made a bomb hoax call at the airline’s headquarter to delay the flight.

The Indira Gandhi International Airport was alerted by GoAir.

“About 157 of the 163 passengers had already boarded the flight,” an airport official said.

“The CISF was immediately alerted.” The aircraft was taken to an isolation bay and the security machinery was put into action.

The Bomb Threat Assessment Committee — comprising the CISF, BCAS, DIAL, Delhi Police, GoAir representatives and an Indian Airlines representative -- met to identify if the call was specific or non-specific.

“All passengers were made to disembark the plane, and the registered baggage de-boarded,” said a senior CISF official.

At 9.20 am, Gupta reached the airport. “As he reached the entry gate of Terminal 1A, he was apprehended and interrogated by the CISF team,” said CISF spokesperson Rohit Katiyar.

According to the officials, he admitted to making the call from his mobile phone. He however, showed no remorse. “My job is very important. This was the best way to catch the flight,” he reportedly said.

Gupta had hit on the idea of delaying the flight after the airline thrice refused to allow him to reschedule his flight, said an investigating officer. “He called the airline’s headquarters in Mumbai and said there was a “suspicious object on the flight, which could be dangerous”.

Gupta was later handed over to the Delhi Police. The CISF is believed to have asked the police to take stern action against him as cases of individual passengers creating panic after getting late for flight are on the rise.

“He has been arrested and a case has been registered against him under Sections 505 1(B) (statements conducing to public mischief with intent to cause alarm to the public), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 182 (false information) of the Indian Penal Code. These are non-bailable sections,” said Garg. He has also been booked under the provisions of the Airport Act and will be produced in the court on Monday and remanded to judicial custody, Garg added.

The GoAir flight finally left at 12.57 pm, with 162 passengers on board.