Indigo flight makes emergency landing in Raipur after bomb threat, one arrested

Indigo Flight Bomb Threat: One passenger has been arrested in connection with the threat, according to Raipur's Superintendent of Police, Santosh Singh.

In Short

• Flight from Nagpur to Kolkata diverted to Raipur after bomb threat
• All passengers and crew safely evacuated at Raipur Airport
• CISF and police inspected aircraft; threat deemed a hoax

A Kolkata-bound IndiGo flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Raipur Airport on Thursday morning after it received a bomb threat, triggering fears among the passengers and crew.

A flight from Nagpur to Kolkata was diverted after the airlines got the threat, according to Raipur’s Senior Superintendent of Police, Santosh Singh.

All 187 passengers and six crew members on the Indigo flight were evacuated and moved to a lounge at Raipur Airport.

The aircraft was taken to an isolation bay, where teams from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Raipur police conducted a thorough inspection over several hours before clearing the flight to proceed to Kolkata.

One passenger has been arrested in connection with the threat, according to Raipur’s Superintendent of Police, Santosh Singh. The preliminary probe indicated that he sent a threat message, warning of a bomb on board. He is being questioned by authorities at Mana police station.

"We received information about the presence of a bomb on Indigo flight 6E812, en route from Nagpur to Kolkata. In the preliminary inquiry, it was found out that one of the passengers, Nimesh Mandal, had given this threat via message. We inspected the aircraft well with the team of CISF. And the threat turned out to be a hoax," Additional SP Kirtan Rathore said.

"A case has been filed against him under relevant sections as we had received a complaint from the respective airlines," he added.