Flyer mentions ‘hijacking’ on phone call, arrested

A 23-year-old man was arrested on a Mumbai-Delhi flight after discussing "hijacking a plane" over the phone. The incident caused panic among passengers and led to a delay of four hours. The accused was booked under sections 336 and 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code and has been granted bail. The airline, Vistara, is cooperating with security agencies in the investigation.

MUMBAI: A 23-year-old man on board a Mumbai-Delhi flight was arrested on Thursday night after he was heard discussing “hijacking a plane” over the phone.

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The incident took place at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport when Vistara’s Delhi-bound flight was scheduled to take off around 7 pm.

When the passengers were boarding the plane, the accused, identified as Ritesh Juneja of Haryana was heard talking loudly over the phone that “the hijacking plan” was underway.

“He was telling the person on the other side of the phone that someone else was about to board a flight from Ahmedabad. He also assured the other person of all help before saying that hijacking ka sara planning hai (All planning for hijacking is done),” a cabin crew told the police.

The crew member also said that the words created panic among other passengers and some of whom started expressing their wish to deboard immediately. The captain then got in touch with the airport security personnel, who deplaned Juneja before the flight took off. Juneja was handed over to the Sahar police.

Confirming the arrest, deputy commissioner of police, Zone 8, Dixit Kumar Gedam, said, “The accused has been booked under sections 336 (Act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 505(2) (making statement with intent to cause fear or alarm among people) of the Indian Penal Code.”

The accused was granted bail after he was produced before a metropolitan magistrate court on Friday.

A Vistara spokesperson said, “There was an unruly passenger on Vistara flight UK 996 scheduled to operate from Mumbai to Delhi on 22 June 2023 at 18:30 hours. In line with the guidelines and our standard operating procedure (SOP), relevant authorities were immediately informed, and the said customer was handed over to them. A thorough check was conducted, and the flight took off with the rest of the customers after clearance,” he said.

He added that the airline is fully cooperating with the security agencies in the investigation. “Vistara stands firm with its zero-tolerance policy against unruly behaviour that endangers the safety and security of its customers and staff,” he added.

The flight was delayed by around four hours as all the passengers had to be de-boarded for a detailed check of the aircraft and handbags of the passenger, an airport official said.

A Sahar police officer said, “The accused did not intend to cause an alarm. He was just updating his friend about the flight, which was about to take-off soon as it had been delayed by half an hour.”

Juneja and his friend were flying from Mumbai and Ahmedabad, respectively, and were to meet in New Delhi, he added. The officer said that the accused meant to reassure the friend that since he was inside the plane already, if there were any more delays, he would just hijack the plane to reach New Delhi on time.