Hoax bomb call to SpiceJet: Accused did so to help friends spend time with girls they met

Delhi Police on Friday arrested a trainee ticketing agent of British Airways for making a hoax bomb call to a Pune-bound SpiceJet flight. Following the call, the airline halted the departure and the security drills were followed.

In a statement, DCP (IGI) Ravi Kumar Singh said that a Spicejet call centre received a call regarding a bomb in flight number- SG-8938, which was bound to depart from Delhi to Pune at 9.30 p.m.

"Keeping in view the gravity of the call the security agencies at CISF immediately swung into action and a coordination meeting of all stakeholders was organized as the bomb threat was specific. The Spicejet Airline SG-8938 which was bound to take off to Pune, having 182 passengers and crew members was immediately taken to the isolation bay and was parked at isolation bay No. 803. All the passengers & their luggage were properly checked and frisked by CISF," according to the statement.

The aircraft was also thoroughly checked and no suspicious article was found. Later, SpiceJet filed an official complaint with the police regarding the bomb call and the investigation was launched.

Accused made bomb call to pursue girls they met on Manali road trip

During the probe, it was found that the hoax call was made by one Abhinav Prakash, who is working for British Airways as a trainee ticketing agent. The accused told that he did it for his two friends - Kunal Sehrawat and Rakesh alias Bunty - who were pursuing the girls they had met during their road trip to Manali.

"Both the girls were departing today to Pune via flight No. SG-8938 of Spicejet Airlines. His friends told him that they wanted to spend some more time with their girlfriends and instigated the accused to find out a plan to somehow delay their departure from Delhi. In pursuance of the instigation, all three formulated a malicious plan of making a hoax bomb call at the call centre of Spicejet Airlines, with an ulterior motive of getting the flight cancelled," the statement said.

After making the call, the accused stopped picking up calls from SpiceJet. "The accused person to boost their false bravado contacted the girls who were onboard and when they came to know that the flight has been delayed/stopped, they even celebrated the execution of their malevolent act," police said.

Police said that when Bunty and Kunal came to know about Abhinav's arrest, they fled from their addresses and are currently absconding. Efforts are being made to trace the accused.