A family dispute may be behind the drama at the international airport on Sunday, when a caller identifying himself as Suresh Chavan said a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative was boarding a Mumbai-Dubai Emirates flight.
Flight EK 505, with 356 people, including crew, on board, took off
after multiple security checks at 2.04pm.
“At 9.55am, the airlines cargo supervisor received a call on the landline, claiming that a 61-year-old passenger, Shahbaz Khan, seated on (seat number) 17F on the aircraft, was an LeT operative,” a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) official at the airport said.
Security staff and others sounded an alarm and cancelled the departure, scheduled for 10.15am, and all passengers were deplaned.
Airport officials said the flight was on the taxiway when the supervisor called the airline manager, who alerted the air traffic control (ATC).
Police said a case had been registered against the caller.
Shahbaz’s relatives said they suspected the call was made by Aslam, his son from the first marriage. Police said Shahbaz was involved in a property dispute with Aslam over a residential building at Fort, which also houses some travel agency offices.
Shahbaz was travelling with his second wife Munira (50) to Dubai. “Munira was to visit her cousins in Dubai, while Shahbaz was to take a connecting flight to London, to visit his elder daughter, who is married and settled down there,” one of his relatives said.
Shahbaz and Munira were deplaned and detained for questioning by the CISF, air intelligence unit, bureau of civil aviation security and intelligence bureau officials, before being handed over to local police.
Shahbaz, from Modi Street in Fort, runs a private security agency and is a mohalla committee member, his family members said.
There are 11 non-cognisable offences registered against Shahbaz at MRA Marg police station, the police said; most relate to a property dispute and have been filed by Aslam. At dispute is a residential building at Fort, which also houses some travel agency offices.
“Since there was no incriminating evidence or explosive found on the flight as well as in the baggage of the passengers and others, it seemed like a hoax,” a police official investigating the case said.
CISF senior commandant Jitendra Negi said anti-sabotage and anti-hijacking exercises were carried out. “All passengers were frisked and baggage was re-screened,” he said.
“As there was no caller ID available, it was difficult to trace the caller. We will question Aslam, who is a suspect,” the police official said.
Additional commissioner of police Amitabh Gupta said, “We have registered a case against the caller under sections 182 (false information with intention to harm), 506 (ii) (criminal intimidation) and 507 (criminal intimidation by anonymous communication) of the Indian Penal Code. Investigations are on.”
An Emirates spokesperson, while confirming the incident, said the flight was delayed for around four hours as full security procedures were activated.
—With inputs from Poornima Swaminathan
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