Flight to Guwahati makes emergency landing in city to offload unruly passenger

Bhubaneswar: An IndiGo flight from Hyderabad to Guwahati had to be diverted to the Biju Patnaik International Airport here on Sunday to offload an unruly passenger. The plane took off for Guwahati after the passenger, a resident of the Assam city, was handed over to police.
Sources in the airport said the passenger, identified as Irshad Ali (22), allegedly breached the safety procedure of the aircraft and didn’t follow the cabin crew’s instructions. He also tried to force open the airborne flight’s door.
“The personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) offloaded the passenger and handed him over to airport police. Another passenger, Abdul Karim, who was travelling with Irshad, disembarked voluntarily,” IndiGo’s assistant manager (security) Nihar Ranjan Mohanty said in a statement.
Irshad works in an ice cream parlour in Hyderabad. Police said his mother had died on Saturday and he was on his way to attend the funeral in Guwahati. “We verified his antecedents. We grilled him on why he resorted to unruly behaviour. He didn’t misbehave with the cabin crew but he was impatient and showing signs of anxiety,” said inspector-in-charge (airport police station) Umakanta Pradhan.
He added that Irshad had been de-planed for breaking the flight’s safety rules and that no FIR had been registered against him.
“Irshad was taken to Capital Hospital here as he showed signs of depression. He will be released from the hospital after the doctor’s approval,” Pradhan added. “It is up to him to arrange for his transport to Guwahati. No assistance will be provided to him,” the officer further said.
The flight landed at Bhubaneswar airport at 6.10 am. It took off at 7.13 am after the formalities were over. It reached Guwahati at 8.30 am, airport sources said.
Airport director Suresh Chandra Hota said, “Flight operation during the emergency landing was normal. The CISF’s Quick Reaction Team handled the situation well. We handed over the passenger to police as per the rule. Now it is up to them to handle the case.”