Gurgaon: 13-year-old Odisha boy apprehended for hoax bomb call to IGI Airport last Diwali

A 13-year-old boy was apprehended from Bhubaneswar on Sunday for making a hoax bomb call to the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Diwali last year. The boy, who was “inspired” by the American movie Airport to make the call, was granted bail on Monday as he has no criminal background.

On October 19 last year, the class 8 student had called the IGI airport stating that there was a bomb in one of the Delhi-Mumbai flights. Many flights were delayed because of the call as the bomb threat assessment committee convened to check the threat.

According to the police, the call was received at the Udyog Vihar Phase-3 call centre. One of the executives from the call centre had filed a police complaint after which a case was registered at the Udyog Vihar police station.

“I searched for the (IGI) airport’s number on Google and took my mother’s mobile number to make the call (about a bomb in a Delhi-Mumbai flight). Later, I forgot to even check if that flight was delayed or cancelled. I was influenced by the movie Airport and I wanted to do something adventurous, so I made the call,” the teenager told members of the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) before being produced before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).

Appearing before JJB principal magistrate Davender Singh, the boy said he had seen children play pranks in movies and so he also decided to pull one too. However, he was unaware of the consequences of his action, he said.

“I am very scared to go to jail; I have only seen it (pranks) in the movies. I will not repeat my mistake, please forgive me this time. I am very sorry, sir,” the juvenile told the principal magistrate while pleading guilty.

Police said that the boy studied in a private school in Bhubaneswar and is an intelligent student.

The boy was granted bail as “keeping him behind the bars would serve no useful purpose”, the order read. The officer also failed to show that the juvenile had a criminal background.

“He is immature and has no previous criminal background. If the juvenile is sent to the observation home in Faridabad he will come in contact with other juveniles, which is not in the interest of the juvenile. No reason is made out to decline the bail,” read the order.

The boy was released on a bail bond of ₹30,000, with one surety of the like amount.

DCPU legal and probation officer Nisha Saini has been directed to submit the social investigation report of the juvenile in 15 days.