Indian man fined $51K, jailed for bomb hoax at Geneva airport

Geneva, November 7

A 39-year-old Indian who triggered a bomb scare at the Geneva airport to avoid missing his flight to India has been sentenced to six months prison and slapped with a hefty penalty of 50,000 Swiss francs, Swiss media reported on Monday.

The Indian, who has not been named, called up an Aeroflot airline employee at Geneva's Cointrin airport last month and told them there was a bomb on his Moscow-bound connecting flight to India, which he was rushing to catch, the Le Matin daily reported.

The plane, with 116 passengers on board, had to be evacuated and thoroughly searched after the Swiss police was alerted about the bomb scare made by the Indian man who lives in the Swiss town of Montreux.

The man, who was arrested by the police after he reached the airport to catch his flight, was sentenced to six-months prison term and also slapped with a fine of 50,000 Swiss francs ($51,200) to compensate for the loss time of police and airport authorities, the report said.

Geneva police chief Francois Waridel said that the amount would be enough to pay the 101 police officers and six security agents who were called in to respond to the alert.

"Considering the times we are living in, we have to take maximum security precautions," Waridel said. — PTI