Man arrested over bomb hoax call at Mumbai airport

Following the call, the Yemeni national was detained and inspected. (Representational)

THE Sahar police on Saturday arrested a 28-year-old man for allegedly making a hoax call about a bomb at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in the wee hours of Saturday.

The police said, about 1.05 am, accused Qutbuddin Syahiwala called the international airport’s security and informed them that a Yemeni national was carrying a bomb in her bag.

Following the call, the Yemeni national was detained and inspected. Several security agencies, including a dog squad, were roped in to detect the bomb. “Nothing was found in her bag. She was allowed to leave after due inspection,” said Assistant Inspector Jayant Gangawane.

The police said the woman had arrived in Mumbai with her father on June 15 for a relative’s wedding. The accused had met her after the wedding last week in Mumbai before she was due to catch her connecting flight to Yemen, said an officer.

An officer said, “He (Syahiwala) befriended the Yemeni national and claimed that he was an affluent businessman in Mumbai, and asked her to meet him. When they met, she realised he is a mechanic. She fought with him.” During inquiry, the woman told the police that Syahiwala had earlier threatened her that she will not be able to leave the country.

“When she was leaving from the international airport for Yemen, he called the airport authority and alleged that a Yemeni national was carrying a bomb in her bag,” the officer added. Syahiwala has been booked under Section 505 (1), relating to circulating a rumour to incite public fear, and 506 (2), related to criminal intimidation, of the Indian Penal Code.