KOLKATA TEEN MAKES HOAX CALLS TO AIRLINES FOR FUN, HELD

MUMBAI: A Class 8 boy, whose idea of fun was pretending to be a police officer and ‘alerting’ airlines about a bomb in the plane, was arrested by the crime branch from Kolkata.

The 14-year-old gave the police a tough time as he would switch off the phone after making the call, making it difficult to trace him.

On Sunday, the Jet Airways control room received a call stating that there was an explosive in a London-delhi flight.

The bomb disposal squad was pressed into action and after searching the plane thoroughly, the staff realised that it was a hoax call. They then approached the police.

A crime branch team headed by senior inspector Deepak Phatangare (unit 8), which was conducting a parallel probe, was able to trace the calls to Kolkata.

Inspector Raju Kasbe and assistant inspector Milind Desai left for Kolkata, and were shocked to find that the teenager was responsible for the hoax calls.

On questioning, the boy admitted that he had made several such calls to various airlines in the past six months.

“He would also call up an airline, book a ticket and then not turn up,” Phatangare said, adding that the teenager said he made the calls “to have a little fun”.

The boy has been brought to the city and sent to the Dongri children’s home, as he is a minor.