Jet flight diverted after ‘bomb threat’

Ahmedabad/New Delhi, October 30

A Gujarati jeweller was detained today for allegedly planting a note about hijackers and a bomb in the toilet of a Mumbai-Delhi Jet Airways flight, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Ahmedabad, officials said.

Flight 9W 339, which had taken off from Mumbai at 2.55 am with 115 passengers and seven crew members, was diverted to Ahmedabad airport around 3.45 am.

The Boeing 737-900 plane was parked at a remote bay and all 122 safely deplaned, a Jet Airways spokesperson said. The note, allegedly placed by Mumbai-based Gujarati jeweller Birju Kishore Salla, stated that there were hijackers and a bomb in the cargo area, officials said. It was a printed note in Urdu and English, asking that the plane be flown straight to PoK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir). It ended with the words, “Allah is Great”. The reference to PoK made investigators suspicious because Pakistan-based terrorists call the area ‘Azad Kashmir’, an official said.

“Salla was detained by police after preliminary investigation... It was revealed that Salla had put the threat letter in the plane’s washroom. We will take necessary action against him,” added an Ahmedabad Police official.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said he was advising airlines to put him on the no-fly list immediately, in addition to other statutory criminal action. Security officials said nothing was found after a thorough check of all the passengers and their bags. After more than six hours at the airport, the flight carrying the passengers took off for Delhi around 10.30 am, he said. — PTI