Bomb hoax delays Indigo flight, passenger says he was 'joking'

Raipur: A bomb hoax on a Kolkata-Indore Indigo flight at Swami Vivekananda Airport at Mana here sent authorities into a tizzy Sunday morning.

The flight was delayed by about three hours after a passenger claimed that a bomb had been kept in the aircraft.

Airport Director Anil Kumar Rai said the Indore-bound Indigo flight from Kolkata landed at Raipur around 8 am as per the schedule. After all the Raipur-bound passengers alighted, a man called Prabal Pratap Chouhan (27), who was going to Indore, told the crew that there was a bomb in a black-colour bag kept on the aircraft.

The pilot alerted the air traffic controller and the aircraft was evacuated immediately. "Bomb squad and sniffer dog squad went aboard and examined the bag but nothing suspicious was found," said Rai.

The flight took off for Indore around 11 am. Chouhan who claimed that it was a prank was arrested by Mana police and produced before a local court, which granted him bail.

Chouhan told police that he was "joking".