In a surprising turn of events, a man arrested last month for allegedly issuing a false bomb alert on an IndiGo flight from Nagpur to Kolkata has been identified as an Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer. The flight, carrying 187 passengers, was forced to make an emergency landing in Raipur, only for the bomb threat to be declared a hoax after a thorough search.
The accused, Animesh Mandal, a Deputy Superintendent-rank IB officer posted in Nagpur, was arrested by Raipur Police under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 351(4) and provisions of the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act, 1982, news agency PTI reported.
Mandal’s lawyer, Faizal Rizvi, claimed his client acted on information received from a source about a potential bomb on the flight. Rizvi questioned why the authorities initially withheld Mandal’s identity as an IB officer and insisted that his client was innocent.
Raipur Senior Superintendent of Police Santosh Singh defended the arrest, stating that the IB was informed immediately after Mandal’s detention.
Singh said Mandal was arrested following a joint interrogation by the IB and local police, which concluded that the bomb threat was false. “His actions caused panic, endangering the lives of passengers and crew members,” Singh added.
Advocate Rizvi argued that cases under the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act should be tried in a special court, which does not exist in Chhattisgarh. He announced plans to move the High Court to seek bail for his client.
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