Hijacking threat: Navi Mumbai police register case

The Navi Mumbai police in Maharashtra has registered an offence against the unidentified caller who had threatened to hijack an Air India aircraft and take it to Pakistan.

The call had been made to a Navi Mumbai-based call centre which provides service to the national carrier Friday night.

"We have registered a case at Rabale MIDC station under IPC sections 505 (public mischief) and 507 (criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication)," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Sudhakar Pathare Sunday.

"We are probing the case with the help of Cyber Cell," he added.

Following the threat call, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai was put on high alert and the security there was beefed up.

Though it was classified as a non-specific threat, Air India took it seriously in view of the situation in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack.

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security Saturday issued directives to all airlines and airport authorities to adopt "enhanced security measures" such as stricter checking of vehicles entering parking areas and enhanced screening of passengers, staff and visitors.