A minor has been taken into custody by the Mumbai Police over a series of bomb threats being issued to various airlines since October 14, leading to some flights being diverted, including one to a remote airport in Canada, Report informs via NDTV.
Police said the threats were allegedly issued because the boy wanted to frame one of his friends, with whom he had a dispute over money.
The 17-year-old boy, a school dropout from Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh, and his father had been summoned by the Mumbai Police on Tuesday. While he has been taken into custody and is being taken to a remand home, his father is still being questioned, police sources said. The teenager allegedly created a handle on X in the name of the friend with whom he had a dispute and posted bomb threats from it.
At least 19 threats have been issued, starting with four on Monday, and the Mumbai Police has registered three first information reports (FIRs). The teenager has currently been taken into custody in connection with the first FIR, which is about Monday's threats.
Police said that, on Monday, the boy had issued hoax threats to four flights, three of which were on international routes. Of these, two were delayed, including Air India flight AI 119 from Mumbai to New York, which was diverted to New Delhi, and one had to be cancelled.