Judicial custody for IndiGo hoax caller

Mubarak Ali, 33, who was arrested by Delhi Police for making a hoax call that left 164 passengers of an IndiGo flight stranded for hours on Sunday, was sentenced in judicial custody for 14 days on Monday. Police did not seek his custodial interrogation.

Mubarak, who runs a computer hardware shop, was arrested from Bhagirathi Vihar in East Delhi and charged under IPC sections 182 (giving false information to a public servant), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 505 (statement conducing public mischief).

The arrest came after CISF personnel provided police the number of the PCO in Yamuna Vihar from where Mubarak allegedly made the call. He told IndiGo authorities that there were explosives and weapons aboard the 6E 307 Delhi-Hyderabad aircraft he missed.

Soon after the call was received, the flight carrying 164 passengers, including five crew members, was grounded, all passengers taken to an isolation bay and a security check carried out. The security set-up at the airport was also put on high alert. “We received a call at our [Mumbai-based] call centre informing of a security threat on our flight 6E 307 DEL-HYD departing at 8.55 pm Sunday. All 164 passengers are safe,” an IndiGo official said. The plane finally took off at 3.30 am on Monday. “A passenger who missed the flight made the hoax call. We are investigating other angles also,” a police officer said.