BENGALURU: A 48-year-old flyer on an Air India Express flight from Bengaluru to Kochi was offloaded from the flight and an FIR booked against him as he made a 'bomb' remark after his hand baggage was checked on the aircraft. The incident happened just before the flight was about to take off on Sunday evening from Terminal 2 of the Kempegowda International Airport.
The passenger was allegedly drunk.
According to Airport police, the incident happened at 5.25 pm, just five minutes before the scheduled departure of flight No. I5 990. The flyer Saju K Kumaran works at a pharmaceutical company in Peenya Industrial Area.
Kumaran who was earlier frisked by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel was irritated when airline staff checked his hand baggage again just before the flight was about to take off, a source said.
The source added, “He did not co-operate with the Secondary Ladder Point Check (SLPC) staff. He also blurted out that his bag had a bomb in it.”
The airline then alerted the CISF’s Airport Security Group control room. The personnel arrived and offloaded the passenger and took him to the airport police station.
Kumaran has been booked under Section 505 of the IPC, which deals with statements that cause public mischief and shall be punished with three years imprisonment or with fine or both.
“It is a non-congizable offence and permission has been sought from the court to interrogate him now,” said a cop.
A TOI report stated that Kumaran was flying home as he was in a hurry to get to his native Thrissur in Kerala as his sister's newborn had died during delivery. It added that Saji, annoyed by the additional check inside the aircraft, wondered aloud if they suspected him to be carrying a bomb or a knife. The report also quoted a cop as saying that upon confirming the death of the newborn, Kumaran was told he could be let off with just a fine, if he rendered an apology.
According to CISF sources, “Due to the high alert in place at airports presently, an additional checking of passengers is done after the shuttle bus takes flyers from the boarding gate to the flight and they climb up the ladder to board the flight. Flyers are randomly checked by the airline staffers. This is just an enhanced layer of security called as Secondary Ladder Point Check (SLPC).”
A CISF official said that usage of the word bomb was "a strict no-no at any airport in the world as it causes unnecessary panic." One man’s mischief can impact the schedule of many passengers, he said.
The Bomb Threat Assessment Committee needs to be convened and many other related action have to be taken in the interest of passenger safety, he added.
The flight took off 22 minutes later, reveals a website that tracks flights.
An official spokesperson from AIX Connect said: "On Sunday, 28th Jan 2024, an inebriated passenger claimed to have a bomb in his handbag during a secondary security check prior to boarding one of our scheduled flights. Our security staff promptly isolated the individual and handed him over to CISF, denying boarding. The security and safety of our guests are non-negotiable, and the incident is currently under investigation by local police.”
(With online desk inputs)
