Man tells Mumbai airport woman has bomb after she refuses to marry him, arrested

Some people take rejection too hard — so much so, they land in jail. Take for example a 28-year-old man, who was arrested on Sunday after he allegedly called up the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport saying a 26-year-old Yemeni woman was carrying a bomb in her bag. And all of this, only to get back at her, as she had rejected his proposal on Saturday.

According to the Sahar police, the accused, Qutubudin Hatimbhai Shahiwala, called the airport control room around 1am on Saturday, claiming the woman was carrying a bomb in her bag. After the woman reached the airport for her 5am flight to Yemen, the authorities stopped her and checked all her baggage, but found nothing. At 2.30am, when she was questioned, they found that she was being threatened by Shahiwala. He had warned her to not leave him or he would create trouble for her. The number Shahiwala had used to call was verified by the woman.

A police team then rushed to his residence on Mohamed Ali Road and arrested him. Shahiwala, who hails from Madhya Pradesh and has been living in Mumbai for the past five years, had met the woman on a matrimonial website a few months ago. After chatting on WhatsApp, when she flew down to Mumbai for her father’s treatment, she decided to meet Shahiwala. He had told her he was wealthy, but the woman found that the information was false. Shahiwala worked at a shop.

When she decided to leave for Yemen, Shahiwala kept threatening her to marry him. He has been booked under sections 506 (2) (criminal intimidation) and 505 (1) (b) of the Indian Penal Code. He has been remanded in police custody. He does not have a prior criminal record.

First Published: Jul 23, 2018 10:30 IST