Tripura Police have arrested three teenaged schoolboys for making a hoax call to a private airline’s customer care centre in Gurgaon, threatening to shoot down flights.
“A 16-year-old boy, inspired by his two friends, made a phone call to the IndiGo airlines customer care centre Saturday, identifying himself as the son of slain al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. He threatened that he would shoot down flights of the airlines,” South Tripura district police chief Shankar Debnath told reporters.
Gurgaon police immediately informed Tripura Police, who promptly started inquiry.
“With the help of the mobile tower communication system, we picked up three boys aged 15-16 years Sunday night from their houses at Belonia in southern Tripura,” Debnath said, adding that the boys readily confessed that they had made the call.
“The boys said it was a prank. They just got the phone number of the IndiGo customer care centre in Gurgaon from a plane ticket,” the district police head said.
IndiGo airlines officials also held meetings with the police and talked to the offenders.
Since the boys are minors, they will be booked under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2000, a police official said.