Depressed over bad performance review, IndiGo staffer makes ‘hoax’ call about bomb on Mumbai-bound flight
The accused was employed with IndiGo Airlines as Customer Service Officer at the Pune airport (Representational Image)
Police have arrested a 23-year-old IndiGo staffer who allegedly made a hoax call regarding a bomb on a Mumbai-bound flight earlier this month.
The accused, identified as Kartik Madhav Bhat, reportedly wanted to teach the budget carrier a lesson after his superiors warned him about his poor on-job performance.
On May 2, a call about a bomb on a Mumbai-bound flight was received at the IndiGo Airlines Office in the Cargo Complex at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA).
Subsequently, a few Mumbai-bound flights from the IGI airport were checked. The call was eventually declared as a “hoax” after nothing suspicious was found.
Cops managed to trace Bhat on the basis of the number from which the call was made. The Pune-resident was apprehended last week and the SIM card used for making the hoax call was recovered from his possession.
During the investigation, it was found that after passing his intermediate examination, the accused did Diploma in Hospitality and Aviation from Frankfinn Institute in 2013.
He later started working in the aviation sector and was currently employed with the IndiGo Airlines as Customer Service Officer at the Pune airport.
During interrogation, he revealed that his job performance was not up to the mark and he had been given verbal notice to improve his performance in three months or face departmental action, said Sanjay Bhatia, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Airport).
He got depressed and made the call out of frustration and to teach a lesson to the airlines, the officer added.
