A 55-year-old Mumbai man has been arrested after allegedly claiming his bag contained a bomb during a routine pre-flight security check, an offhand remark that delayed an IndiGo flight to Delhi by roughly an hour.
The incident also forced over a hundred passengers off the aircraft, according to The Times of India.
The incident occurred on August 9 aboard IndiGo flight 6E333, which was scheduled to leave Mumbai at 8 a.m.
Citing police, the report said airline staff were carrying out standard pre-departure checks, asking passengers whether they were carrying restricted items such as lighters, scissors or liquids, when the passenger — identified as Versova resident Anuj Jayaram Suvarna — allegedly responded that he had a bomb in his bag.
The remark prompted the airline to immediately alert senior officials as well as the Central Industrial Security Force, the report said. Suvarna was deboarded along with his two bags as a precaution, while more than 100 fellow passengers were also asked to disembark so that security personnel could carry out a detailed search of the aircraft and the baggage.
Once the checks confirmed, there was no actual threat, the flight eventually departed around 9 a.m. without him.
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According to the TOI report, Suvarna was on his way to Delhi for work and later told police during questioning that he had made the comment in jest.
IndiGo's Assistant Security Manager, Omprakash Rajbhar, filed a complaint with Sahar Police, following which an FIR was registered against Suvarna under Sections 125 and 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, covering acts endangering life or personal safety and criminal intimidation, respectively.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Nimit Goyal said Suvarna was subsequently granted bail. The report added that IndiGo has classified him as an unruly passenger, and police indicated the airline could also move to place him on its no-fly list.
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