Canadian passenger’s bomb threat forces emergency landing of B’luru-bound flight
Deputy commissioner of police, Gomti Zone, Akash Patel, said, “A passenger gave information about the bomb in the plane. Thereafter, the entire plane and passengers’ luggage were thoroughly checked as per emergency protocol.”
Panic erupted on an IndiGo flight shortly after take off from Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi on Saturday night, when a Canadian citizen, Nishant Yohanathan, claimed there was a bomb on the plane. The Bengaluru-bound flight 6E 499, which had just taken off with 159 passengers, was forced to make an emergency landing to the airport, delaying its departure until Sunday morning, police said.
At around 9:55 pm, Nishant allegedly caused a disturbance onboard the Bengaluru-bound flight 6E 499, with 159 passengers aboard. He reportedly shouted that there was a bomb in the plane leading to widespread panic among those on board. He also misbehaved with crew members.
Upon receiving the information, the crew informed the pilot, who promptly contacted air traffic control. The plane, which just took-off, was to land back at Lal Bahadur Shashtri International Airport and returned to an isolated area. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and other security agencies immediately launched a search, but no suspicious objects were found on the aircraft, officials informed.
As a result of the scare, passengers were forced to remain inside the airport terminal overnight. The flight finally departed at 7:35 am on Sunday with 158 passengers onboard, police said.
Police authorities acted swiftly, detaining the passenger, who was taken to Phulpur police station for further questioning, said assistant commissioner of police, Pindara, Prateek Kumar.
Deputy commissioner of police, Gomti Zone, Akash Patel, said, “A passenger gave information about the bomb in the plane. Thereafter, the entire plane and passengers’ luggage were thoroughly checked as per emergency protocol.”
He added, “The passenger gave wrong and false information, which caused a delay in the flight operation and posed a challenge to security arrangements. Therefore, a case under relevant sections of BNS against the passenger has been registered. The passenger is a national of Canada. Information about the action is being sent to the Canadian High Commission.”
The case has been registered against the accused, Nishant Yohanathan, under Section 115(2) (Voluntarily causing hurt) of the BNS and Section 3(1)(D) of the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation Act, 1982, based on a complaint filed by Sonu Kumar, manager of security, IndiGo Airlines, Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport, Varanasi. The police also stated that the accused has been arrested and sent to judicial custody.
