Hoax mail claiming to hijack Hyderabad-Dubai flight sent to Hyderabad international airport; three detained

Officials said that three persons have been detained for sending hoax email to the airport authorities claiming to hijack the Hydeabad-Dubai flight.

Hyderabad: The Shamshabad Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Telangana capital Hyderabad has received a hoax email threatening to hijack the Hyderabad-Dubai Air India flight at the airport, sources said on Monday. Three people have been detained by the police in the case. It is learnt that the threatening email was sent to the authorities at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, sending the security at the airport into a tizzy.

An official said that the miscreants said that they were going to hijack the Hyderabad-Dubai flight as one of the passengers on board the Hyderabad-Dubai Air India flight AI951 was a “potential hijacker”. Reports also said that the threatening email sent to the authorities at the Shamshabad airport claimed that the flyer said to be a “potential hijacker” was an “informer” of the Pakistani spy agency ISI.

Following the threatening email, security at the airport was beefed up even as the security forces launched a search operation to nab the passenger mentioned in the threatening email. An official said that in the ensuing investigation by the security forces, the threatening email was found to be a prank. It is learnt that three miscreants have been detained in the case.

They have been identified as Tirupati, Vinod, and Rakesh. An official said that accused trio was going to Iraq via Dubai. After their arrest, the accused trio was handed over to the airport police. Meanwhille, following the threatening email, the Hyderabad-Dubai flight was canceled. Airport officials said that the passengers would be sent to Dubai on another flight.