The investigation into the series of hoax bomb threats made to the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, has revealed that the suspect arrested on Wednesday reportedly felt aggrieved after he was denied a job as a security guard at the airport.
Aditya Rao, 35 years old, a resident of Manipal, was arrested in connection with the case near Baiyappanahalli on Tuesday evening. He had been dubbed the 'Catch Me If You Can' caller, a reference to 2002 crime film, starring Leonardo Di Caprio.
An investigating police officer told TNM that Aditya holds a mechanical engineering degree and an MBA, and had arrived in Bengaluru six months ago seeking a job. "During interrogation, he said that he applied for a job as a security guard at the airport, but was denied the job. It was odd for someone with his qualifications to apply for the post of a security guard," he said.
Aditya, who graduated from an institute in Mysuru in 2008, claims he has held several jobs in the last decade. He first worked as a sales manager at ICICI Bank in Bengaluru, before taking up a job at HSBC Bank. He had another short stint working at ICICI Bank before working as an insurance agent for Aditya Birla Life Insurance for a month and as a design engineer for a firm for another month.
"After his job as an insurance agent, he took up small-time jobs, first as a cook at the Suttige Mutt in Udupi and later as a security guard at Alvas College in Dakshina Kannada. His family urged him to come to Bengaluru in search of a better job," adds the police inspector.
On Wednesday, investigating officials repeatedly questioned Aditya over his decision to take up a series of menial jobs. In response, the accused reportedly told police officers that he did not like his job as a sales manager in a bank and wanted to do an "easy job" like that of a security guard.
Aditya has been residing in a PG in Goreguntapalya in the city for six months in search of a job.
In the past week, Aditya has sent police officers in the city on a wild goose hunt after he made three calls to the airport claiming that a bomb had been placed inside its premises. One of the calls made on Monday to the nodal officer of AirAsia India even delayed a flight headed to Pune by 45 minutes.
"The suspect claims that since they (airport authorities) denied him a job, he wanted to make them pay for it. He searched numbers on the internet and made the calls using two SIM cards. He switched off the phone as soon as he made the call," added the police official.
A similar call was also made to the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) Railway Station in the city on Monday. The suspect reportedly picked a quarrel with officials at the KSR railway station as well over payment for using the cloak room.
While police officials investigating the case don't view a serious security threat from his calls, they will be re-verifying all the details he has given. This will include visiting his PG, his past employers in the city and his alma mater.