Man who made hoax call to igi airport held in bihar

A Tamil Nadu-based lawyer, who allegedly made a hoax call on 26 February about a bomb being planted on a Patna-bound IndiGo flight in order not to miss the flight, has been arrested from Bihar. ‘The 33-year-old Pramod S Elongan was arrested from Bihar’s Danapur Cantonment, where his wife is employed as a medical officer in the Indian Army,’ said J S Deswal DCP IGI Airport. Elongan, a resident of Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu and a member of Madras Bar Association, had gone to Panipat for some work. He had booked a ticket on the IndiGo flight to Patna for 26 February. Deswal said Pramod had gone to Sonepat in Haryana for some work, a day before he made the hoax call. ‘While returning from Sonepat, he consumed alcohol and called to (Indira Gandhi International) IGI (airport) authorities after he realised that he would be late for the flight. But after making the call his phone got switched off and he then took a train to go to Patna,’ said the officer.  But, when he got late to catch his flight while returning from Panipat, he allegedly made a call to the Delhi police control room saying there was a bomb on the plane with an intention to delay its take off, which was scheduled at 12.15 pm. ‘Police arrested him after tracing his mobile number, which was of Tamil Nadu, to Danapur in Bihar where his wife is employed,’ Deswal said. He was brought to Delhi on transit remand and would be produced in court. The flight was delayed by over three hours as police and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) jumped into action after getting the call. The bomb disposal squad was pressed into service after deboarding all 138 passengers and the plane was taken to a remote bay. After a search of over two hours, no bomb was found and the plane was declared safe.