Kerala: Man arrested for hoax bomb threat at Cochin airport

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A 55-year-old passenger has landed in trouble in Kerala after he allegedly claimed that there was a bomb in the baggage of another passenger at the Cochin International Airport here while waiting for the security procedure to board a flight, reported PTI.

The incident was reported on Thursday, police said.

According to Nedumbassery police, Pathanamthitta native Sabu Varghese was arrested on Thursday after he allegedly claimed there was a bomb in one of the suitcases of another passenger.

"It seems like he was irritated due to the long security procedures. While waiting for the security check, he said there was a bomb in another man's baggage," Nedumbassery police said.

The airport authorities, after carrying out checks found the man's claim to be a hoax and after necessary procedures, handed over the man to the Kerala police, which later recorded his arrest.

He was later let off on bail.

In June this year, in a separate incident, a Mumbai-bound Vistara airlines flight from Delhi was delayed after a passenger said she overheard a fellow traveller speaking about a bomb in his bag at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. The claim was later declared a hoax, official sources said Thursday. The flight was delayed for about two hours due to the hoax bomb threat incident.

Earlier in February this year, police conducted a search at the building of the Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court after they received a call about a bomb in the premises which later turned out to be a hoax, an official said. The police control room in Maharashtra received the threat call from Bihar at around 5.45 pm, he said. "The caller said 'I have paid money and my work is not being done. So I kept a bomb in the high court'," the official informed. Teams from Pundalik Nagar police station and the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad reached the high court building and carried out an extensive search, but nothing suspicious was found, he said.

The teams searched two floors of the building, its rear area and the high court's parking area, the official said. No offence was registered so far in this connection, an official from Pundalik Nagar police station said.