Representative image showing a plane at the Bengaluru airport.
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: A 20-year-old passenger sent Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel into a tizzy as he self-offloaded from a Bengaluru-Lucknow flight on February 17 by falsely claiming to be a terrorist.
The Bengaluru International Airport police arrested Adarsh Kumar Singh from Uttar Pradesh following a complaint lodged by an airline security officer. He was later released on bail.
A passenger on Air India flight I51731 on February 17, Singh self-offloaded around 10.40 pm. When CISF staff asked why he did so, Singh allegedly told them that he belonged to a “terror” organisation and that he was a “terrorist”. He further said the flight he offloaded will not reach Lucknow.
Shocked CISF staff and airline security officers hauled Singh to the police station and lodged a complaint.
Although it was initially filed as a non-cognizable report in a court, police converted it into an FIR on February 20, invoking IPC Section 505 (statement conducing public mischief).
Cops call his bluff
A senior police officer told DH that Singh made such statements since he was not in the best of health. “We learnt that he was bluffing after interrogating him,” he said, adding investigations are on.