Emirates flight grounded after 'terror' call, couple detained

A Dubai-bound Emirates flight with 356 passengers and crew on board was today grounded here for about four hours after an anonymous telephone call shortly before its take off that there was a ‘terrorist’ onboard.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the call was a hoax, a police official said, amid high drama at the airport. The plane departed following security clearance from investigating agencies.

A businessman and his wife traveling on the plane were detained for questioning by the police. “Emirates Airlines flight EK 505 Mumbai-Dubai was grounded this morning after we received a call claiming that one of the passengers Shahbaz Khan was a terrorist,” a Mumbai International Airport (Mial) spokesperson said.

The city police are on the look-out for Amjad, the son of Shahbaz Khan.

“Shahbaz and his wife are continuously stating that their son, Amjad, must have made the call as they are embroiled in a property dispute,” a senior police official said.

The anonymous call to the cargo supervisor of the Emirates flight by a man identifying himself as Suresh Chavan has been traced to suburban Andheri. According to the police, the caller said he overheard from someone that Shahbaz was an “Al-Qaeda” terrorist. “We are searching for Amjad to ascertain his location in the morning when the call was received,” the officer said. All the 356 passengers including the crew on board were deplaned and rigorous searches were conducted.

“Shahbaz and his wife were handed over to the local police for questioning after which the aircraft was cleared for take-off. The flight took off at 1404 hours,” the spokesperson said.