New Delhi: On 14 November, an IndiGo flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Raipur following a reported bomb threat. The alert was issued by an Intelligence Bureau (IB) official who claimed to have received the information through his sources.
However, when the threat turned out to be a hoax, the IB official found himself in serious trouble.
Chhattisgarh police booked the IB officer, identified as Animesh Mandal, on charges of “relaying false information” and “acts of sabotage” for sharing what turned out to be a baseless alert. He was subsequently arrested and has been in jail for the past 27 days.
Senior police officials in Raipur told ThePrint that officers from India’s internal intelligence agency were roped in for joint interrogation and that criminal proceedings began only after confirmation from his colleagues that the 44-year-old Mandal had been fabricating stories about intelligence inputs.
“We were told about him being an IB officer and hence IB officers were roped in for joint interrogation. When it was absolutely clear that he was revealing made-up stories about intelligence, IB officers themselves recommended action as per the law,” Raipur Senior Superintendent of Police Santosh Singh told ThePrint.
“Based on the assessment, an FIR was filed and he was taken into custody and our investigation is still underway,” Singh further said.
The flight with 187 passengers on board was diverted to Raipur where the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) thoroughly inspected the aircraft in an isolation bay.
After the threat conveyed by Mandal was found to be a hoax, Chhattisgarh police booked Mandal for criminal intimidation by anonymous communication or taking precautions to conceal the name or abode of the person from whom the threat comes. He was also booked for intentionally communicating information that he knew to be false to endanger the safety of an aircraft in flight. He was arrested the same day.
The reported threat to IndiGo came amid a spate of hoax threats to Indian airlines starting in October.
Hoax bomb threats skyrocketed in the last two weeks of October. Indian flights and airports received more than 500 bomb threats during this period, leading to travel chaos as planes were diverted and forced to make emergency landings. Most of the threats were sent via email or posted through anonymous accounts on social media platforms. Investigating authorities say their motives ranged from publicity stunts to personal vendetta.
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IB officer received info from sources
Mandal’s lawyer, Faisal Rizvi, confirmed to ThePrint that Mandal is an IB officer and that the IndiGo flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Raipur airport based on his input. He has been in judicial custody since, the lawyer added.
Rizvi said Mandal shared the inputs he received from his sources but couldn’t prevent the flight from taking off because it was too late. Advocate Rizvi further said that Mandal’s family approached him with all documentation to prove he worked with the IB and dispel the notion that he was deliberately disrupting the Indian aviation industry.
Rizvi said that Mandal, who was transferred to Nagpur in May, was travelling back home to Kolkata when he is said to have received information about a bomb on the flight.
“Because he received inputs on his phone seconds after take-off and before the network went missing he could not stop the flight from taking off. However, as soon as he was allowed to get off his seat, he informed the cabin crew about the input he received based on which the flight was diverted and landed at Raipur airport,” Rizvi told ThePrint.
“He did his duty by alerting the airline about the input he received. He shouldn’t be prosecuted for an input that was not found to be true which may not have been a first for any intelligence officer,” Rizvi added.
According to the Raipur City police remand application before a Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mandal was arrested at 3.40 p.m. on 14 November after no suspicious items were found on the IndiGo flight.
The station house officer (SHO) at Raipur’s Mana Camp police station, said Air Traffic Control (ATC) revealed that a passenger named Animesh Mandal on IndiGo flight number 6E-812 en route from Nagpur to Kolkata had alerted a cabin crew member to the presence of a bomb on the aircraft. He added that the passenger also showed a tweet on his mobile following which the plane landed at Raipur’s Swami Vivekananda Airport.
“No bomb was found on the plane. A complaint in this regard was reviewed under section 351 (4) of the BNS. And after being found to have committed a crime under Section 3(1) (D) of the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act, 1982, the crime was registered and taken under investigation,” the SHO said.
Under Section 3(1) (D) of the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act, 1982, intentionally communicating information that a person knows to be false to endanger the safety of an aircraft in flight is a crime.
He further said that the Raipur Sessions court did not grant Mandal bail as it declined to adjudicate on his plea, citing lack of authority because the provisions of the Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act, 1982 mandate proceedings before a special court.
“There is no such court in Raipur and hence Mandal, who tried to inform the airline company based on his information, has been languishing in jail. We shall be moving the Chhattisgarh High Court after receiving the order citing lack of authority from the Raipur Sessions court,” Rizvi said.
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‘Sole breadwinner, family man’
One of Mandal’s relatives said he was returning home on 14 November to attend the last rites of his father-in-law. “On 14th afternoon, we were informed about his arrest by Chhattisgarh police, and since then we have been helplessly trying to establish his identity.”
The relative added that Mandal’s arrest has been tough on the family. His parents are octogenarians and suffer from old-age-related illnesses. “He is the sole breadwinner for the family and has been a family man although he never shared the department he worked with and the role he was performing on a day-to-day basis,” she further said.
He had just informed his family and relatives that he was in a government job and hence was getting transferred. His wife travelled to Raipur and met him following his arrest.
“Police officers asked why Mandal could have issued a hoax threat. I expressed complete unawareness because I was not with him on that flight. We never discussed his office work and role. We feel so helpless now. We never ever imagined this even in our worst nightmares,” she said.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)