Hoax call warns of bomb on Chennai to Saudi Arabia flight, Salem man detained

The Delhi Airport control room received a phone call on Thursday around 10.30 pm and the caller introduced himself as Nasiruddin. He spoke in Hindi and said that a woman named Sabina is carrying bomb with her on a flight to Saudi Arabia from Chennai and it would explode when the flight is mid-air.

Soon, the officials alerted the Chennai airport and all other airports across the country. The security was tightened at the Chennai airport. The Q-branch and Intelligence Bureau officials searched all flights to Gulf countries. They checked the flights till Friday afternoon and they found nothing suspicious and there was no passenger in the name Sabina.

Meanwhile, the officials traced the call and identified the owner of the phone number as Arul Raj from Salem. On Friday, a special team detained Arul Raj. During the inquiry, Arul said that he lost his mobile phone a few days ago while traveling on a bus in Salem and added that he had informed the local police, but no complaint was filed. An official said he will be held in custody till his story is verified. Following the incident, flights to Kuwait, Dubai, Doha, Sharjah, Muscat, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia were delayed up to one-and-a-half hours.