Tension prevailed in the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad after an elderly man made a hoax bomb call on February 20 morning. According to the police, the man made the call around 10.30 am to threaten Indigo airline staff, as he was not allowed to board a Hyderabad-Chennai flight due to his delayed entry.
In an official statement, the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Police Station, Cyberabad stated, “Today at about 10:30 hrs a call received to police control room stating that there is a bomb in flight bearing number 6E-6151 and it needs to be stopped immediately, This resulted in Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) to assemble and inquire into the call.”
Soon after, security checks were made at the airport, which delayed other flights, RGIA Inspector Srinivas said. Further upon the police enquiry it was revealed that a person named, Ajmeer Bhadraiah, 59 years, who is a resident of Kapra in Hyderabad had made the hoax call.
“The said person arrived at RGI airport to catch his Indigo flight to Chennai. As he came late to the airport, the Indigo employee denied his boarding. The said passenger argued with the Indigo employee and asked him to allow to board the flight. The Indigo employee informed his officials and replied that it was not possible for them to board the passenger. The passenger threatened to stop the flight and called the police control room (Dial 100) and said that there was a bomb on flight 6E-6131. The fake bomb threat call caused inconvenience to many passengers. The Indigo Airline has reported the incident to the Airport Police Station. The police have initiated action against the passenger as per the law,” read the note.
A similar incident happened in Delhi as well on Monday, which forced IndiGo airlines to divert a flight to Lucknow following a ‘specific bomb threat’. After following all necessary security protocols, the aircraft was later cleared for takeoff.
“IndiGo flight 6E 6191 operating from Delhi to Deogarh in Odisha was diverted to Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh following a specific bomb threat on Monday,” the statement said.