Case registered over plane hijack threat

Mumbai: The Navi Mumbai police registered a case against the unidentified caller who threatened to hijack an Air India flight and take it to Pakistan. The Rabale MIDC police is probing the case and the investigators stated that the call was an Internet call, which is being traced by the cyber cell.

Several teams of Navi Mumbai police, including the cyber cell and the crime branch, have been formed to track down the caller who made the call to an Airoli-based call centre which is outsourced by the national carrier Air India. The police said that the call was received on Saturday.

The caller made a Voice over Internet Protocol and the number on which the call was received is the toll-free number of Sutherland Global Services, a US-based company, officials said.

The caller made the claim and hung up which prompted beefing up of security at the airports across the country. The police did not divulge any details on who received the call and if this was the only hijack call.

Sources stated that they are also sharing details with the central agencies which are also conducting a simultaneous investigation. The police has filed a case as per the provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act against the caller.