SpiceJet bomb hoax: British Airways trainee made call to delay departure of friends' 'girlfriends'
Darpan News Desk IANS, 13 Jan, 2023 01:13 PM
New Delhi, Jan 13 (IANS) Delhi Police have arrested a 24-year-old man for making a hoax bomb call at the SpiceJet call centre in Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, an official said on Friday.
A Pune-bound SpiceJet flight at the IGI airport was evacuated and thoroughly searched after a call about the presence of bomb in the aircraft was received on Thursday evening.
The accused has been identified as Abhinav Prakash, a resident of Dwarka, working as a trainee ticketing agent of British Airways at DLF Qutub Plaza, Gurugram, for the last seven months. He reportedly made the hoax call to delay the departure of his friends' 'girlfriends' who were on board the said flight.
The police said that the manhunt has been launched to nab two other accused persons, who are on the run.
According to Ravi Kumar Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI), information was received on Thursday evening at the SpiceJet call centre in IGI airport regarding a bomb 'planted' on a flight set to depart for Pune at 9.30 p.m.
"The CISF control room was immediately alerted, along with the IGI airport police station. Keeping in view the gravity of the call, the CISF personnel immediately swung into action and a coordination meeting of all the stakeholders was held as the bomb threat was specific," said the DCP.
The SpiceJet flight had 182 passengers and crew members on board, who were immediately taken to the isolation bay.
"All the passengers and their luggage were thoroughly checked by the CISF. The aircraft was also thoroughly checked, but no suspicious item or article was found. After securing the flight and ensuring the safety of all the passengers, the security personnel at the airport examined the SpiceJet officials," the officer said.
During probe, the police through technical surveillance obtained ownership of the number from which the hoax call had originated. It was registered in the name Abhinav Prakash, who was subsequently apprehended.
On interrogation, Prakash told the police that his childhood friends, Rakesh and Kunal Sehrawat, recently went on a road trip to Manali where they befriended two girls. Both the girls were departing to Pune in the same SpiceJet flight.
"Prakash's friends told him that they wanted to spend some more time with the girls and instigated him to find out a plan to somehow delay their departure from Delhi. In pursuance of the instigation, all the three formulated a malicious plan of making a hoax bomb call at the call centre of Spicejet with an ulterior motive of getting the flight cancelled," said the DCP.
Prakash made the call saying "there is a bomb in the flight", and when the Spicejet officials tried to reach him, he didn't answer their calls.
"The accused, to boost their false bravado, also contacted the girls, who were on board the flight. They even celebrated the execution of their malevolent act," the DCP said.
"When Kunal and Rakesh came to know that Prakash has been arrested, they fled from their addresses and are presently absconding. Efforts are on to nab them," the officer added.
There were around 244 passengers on-board the flight which landed at Jamnagar airport at around 9.49 p.m. After receiving the bomb threat, a large number of police personnel were deployed at Dabolim airport in Goa and senior officers held a meeting over the incident.
The girl was rushed to a hospital, where her condition is stated to be out of danger, an official said. The incident occurred at Prathmik Vidyalaya, opposite Model Basti near Rani Jhansi road in Delhi.
Delhi Police had submitted before the court that the investigation was in progress and requested for extension of his judicial custody. Poonawalla, who is accused of killing his live-in partner Walkar and then chopping her body into 35 pieces is currently lodged in the Tihar jail.
Apart from the arrest of two juveniles in conflict with law, the remaining four module members arrested have been identified as Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopi Numberdar (18) of Naushera Pannua; Gurlal Singh, alias Gahla (19) of Chohla Sahib; Surlalpal Singh, alias Gurlal, (21); and Jobanpreet Singh, alias Joban (18) of Naushra Pannua.
Among the H and L, the H-1B and L-1 are among the most popular non-immigrant work visas in the US. In October this year, the US Embassy in India released over 1,00,000 appointments for H and L visas for workers and their families to cut down the wait time.
Eight persons who were critically injured people have been admitted to the Orai Medical College in Jalaun district, said police. According to reports, a gas stove lit up by a cook triggered the blaze, which spread to a nearby wooden structure.
