Jogvedanta Poddar, in his twenties, was detained and taken off a Jet Airways Kolkata-Mumbai flight on Monday after a co-passenger saw him covering his face with a handkerchief and keying in a message about terrorists on a messaging app, a CISF statement said.
He was having a video chat in which he allegedly mentioned “terrorism or explosion,” the police said.
His father told journalists that his son was having “a casual conversation in which he might have used the words jokingly.” The 8.15 a.m. flight took off after a couple of hours.
PTI adds...
‘Nothing suspicious found’
Co-passenger Benjamin Plackett, who was sitting behind Mr. Poddar, noticed the message and immediately alerted the flight captain, who, in turn, reported the matter to the Jet Airways Duty Manager, the statement maintained.
The man was then detained by security officials of Jet Airways and his bags were re-examined.
“No suspicious or objectionable item was found in his bags. On questioning, Mr. Poddar said he was joking about terrorists with his friends,” the CISF statement said.
The 21-year-old resident of Beliaghata area in the city has been handed over to the airport police.
