KOCHI: A Payyoli, Kozhikode, resident missed his flight to Kuala Lumpur last evening from Kochi airport and was detained by the police following an irritated response by the passenger to security officials.
When told his cabin luggage was heavy, he responded on the spur of the moment that his bag contained a "bomb."
The incident happened late on Wednesday evening when Rishad, 35, reached Kochi airport in Nedumbassery to board a Batik Air flight at around 10 pm to travel to Kuala Lumpur. The flight was scheduled to take off at around 12:30 am.
While undergoing a check at the Terminal 3 departure area, security personnel of Batik Air and CISF told Rishad that his cabin luggage was heavy. Agitated over it, Rishad told officials that there might be a bomb in the bag. Soon, a security alert was issued, and Rishad was detained by officers. His entire bag was checked to confirm that it was a bogus claim.
However, as per security protocol, Rishad was handed over to the police. He was later shifted to Nedumbassery police station, where a case was registered against him under Section 353(3) of BNS for spreading false rumours and Kerala Police (KP) Act 118(b) for giving false alarms and misleading police and other essential services. He was released on bail by Thursday morning.
The flight operation was unaffected by the "bomb scare," and it took off at the right time.
According to police officers, there has been an increase in passengers mentioning the word "bomb" in anger over checks conducted by security officials. Police officers said that even uttering the word "bomb" inside airport premises would trigger a security alert, affecting other passengers.