Published Feb 19, 2024 | 8:26 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 19, 2024 | 8:26 PM
File photo of the Hyderabad airport. (Official website)
The Cyberabad police from Telangana on Monday, 19 February, said it had arrested a 34-year-old man from Karnataka’s capital city Bengaluru for allegedly sending a string of hijack-threat emails to the Hyderabad airport authorities.
The police said the accused, Vaibhav Tiwari, hails from Bihar. They added that he was laid off from his job in the IT sector during the Covid-19 pandemic and had been in depression since then.
“The accused was unemployed after losing his job in Covid-19 due to illness. After that, to create a sensation, he was sending threatening emails to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) and also other vital installations,” RGIA Police Station’s Station House Officer (SHO) K Balaraju told South First.
A case has been registered in this regard at the RGIA Police Station under IPC Sections 385 (whoever, with the intent of committing extortion, puts any person in fear, or attempts to put any person in fear, of any injury) and 507 (whoever engages in criminal intimidation using an anonymous communication or hides their identity to issue threats).
As per the cops, the accused had sent two fraudulent emails to the RGIA, which ended up creating a situation of panic among the staff and passengers.
Reports suggested that the RGIA was put on high alert on Saturday after the airport authorities received a series of anonymous emails that warned of an RDX attack at the airport.
“Tiwari had sent four emails to the lost-and-found section of the RGIA in total — two on 15 February and two on 18 February,” said the SHO.
Revealing details of the emails, the police said the accused wrote: “Please don’t open international airport doors as hijackers of a plane are using compliance to murder you and bomb the airport.”
This was in his emails sent to the RGIA authorities around 2.30 pm on 15 February.
In the emails sent at 5 pm on Sunday, the accused said hijackers would use “defence-procured human air force and vehicle technology”, the police said.
