Man held for hoax bomb threat in Mumbai, probe underway

MUMBAI: Mumbai Police on Tuesday apprehended a man from the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) area in connection with a bomb threat to the Mumbai airport, officials said.

The threat call was received at the Mumbai Police control room earlier.

According to police, the call was made around 9.00 am by an unidentified person who claimed he would blow up the Mumbai airport by 2.00 pm.
Acting swiftly, MIDC Police traced and arrested the caller within an hour.

The accused has been identified as Manjeet Kumar Gautam (35), a native of Uttar Pradesh, who has been residing in the Sakinaka area of Mumbai.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Gautam was behind the hoax call. He has been taken into custody for questioning, and the Police are now probing the motive behind the threat, they said.

An investigation into the matter is underway, they added.

Earlier on May 7, an IndiGo flight enroute from Chandigarh to Mumbai received a bomb threat.

According to the Mumbai police, the threat was recieved via a phone call to Sahar airport’s hotline, warning that a bomb had been placed on the aircraft.

However, the flight landed safely at Mumbai’s airport, and authorities conducted thorough checks. The police said nothing suspicious was found on the aircraft during the check.

According to Indigo, the flight operating from Chandigarh to Mumbai received a bomb threat. As per protocol, the aircraft was taken to an isolation bay, passengers disembarked safely, and all standard operating procedures were followed. (ANI)