KOLKATA TIMES NEWS DESK:

A 56-year-old man from Sodpur, on the outskirts of Kolkata, Partha Pratim Nandi, allegedly planted a fake hijack threat aboard an Air India flight to prevent himself from travelling abroad, as his wife, who is battling cancer in its advanced stages, lay bedridden at home. During police interrogation, Nandi reportedly confessed that he had orchestrated the incident to force the cancellation of his flight because he did not want to leave his ailing wife alone.

On Thursday morning, he was produced before court, which remanded him to five days of police custody.

According to police sources, Nandi is employed with a private company and was scheduled to travel to Africa via Mumbai for work-related purposes. However, with his wife confined to bed in the final stages of cancer, he was unwilling to undertake the journey. He had reportedly requested his employer to cancel the trip, but his appeal was turned down. Under pressure to travel despite his family circumstances, he allegedly decided to disrupt the flight by leaving a threatening note in one of its lavatories.

The incident took place on Wednesday morning when the Mumbai-bound Air India flight AI 772 was taxiing towards the runway at around 10.20 am. Cabin crew members discovered a handwritten note in one of the aircraft's rear lavatories, warning of a possible hijacking.

The pilot immediately alerted Air Traffic Control, following which a high security alert was sounded at the airport. The aircraft was moved from the runway to a remote isolation bay, where personnel from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), accompanied by bomb disposal and dog squads, conducted an extensive search. The operation continued for several hours, but no explosives or other suspicious objects were recovered.

Meanwhile, officers from the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport police station, along with central security personnel, launched an investigation to identify the person responsible for the threat. Handwriting samples were collected from all 105 passengers on board. During the examination, investigators found that the handwriting on the threatening note matched the samples provided by Nandi, a resident of Sodpur.

He was subsequently detained and questioned at the airport police station. According to a senior officer, Nandi broke down during interrogation and confessed to leaving the note. He reportedly told investigators that his wife's critical health condition and the resulting mental distress within the family had prompted him to take the extreme step. His intention, he allegedly admitted, was to create panic and force the authorities to cancel the flight, thereby avoiding his overseas assignment.

Police have registered a case against Nandi under relevant legal provisions and arrested him. Investigators are, however, examining whether there were any other motives behind his attempt to compromise the security of an international flight, as directed by the court.