Two business-class Dreamliner passengers from Kerala landed in the police net when they forced the Captain to let them off the Delhi-bound plane before its takeoff from here on Wednesday.
A little while before the flight’s takeoff at 10.30 am, Ameer Thwaha, 34, from Muvattupuzha, and Mansoor Moideen, 19, from Perumbavoor, forced the crew to offload them. “Fearing the worst, the safety crew and CISF swept the aircraft and checked the 206 passengers aboard and their baggage, but found nothing,” an AI source said. Eventually, the plane departed at 11.10 am and landed safely.
Following the flight’s departure, the duo was escorted to an interrogation room where they were detained and questioned for over seven hours by the CISF.
Meanwhile, the visit of officials from the Intelligence Branch of the Police and Home Ministry triggered speculation that the men might be linked to some terrorist outfit.
The duo was later handed over to the Airport Police at 5 pm and senior police officials locked themselves in with the men till 8 pm.
“We were asked to wait outside and were not even allowed to see them,” a police official said.
He confirmed that officials from the ‘Q’ Branch and RAW had arrived to interrogate the men, but very little was solid about the outcome. According to another police official who interrogated them, the men had maintained that they had boarded the flight just to take pictures of themselves on the Dreamliner and show off to their friends.
“They admitted that they had booked the tickets online through a credit card and indicated that they were aiming to get refunds after being deplaned. We are looking to see whether they have any links (with terror groups),” a police official said.
Investigating officers said they have asked the Kerala Police for Mansoor and Thwaha’s records. Their parents had been informed of the incident and were on their way to Chennai.
Though their story doesn’t hold water, one thing is for certain - their money is down the drain, as AI officials confirmed that after boarding a flight, only a minimal refund would have been considered.
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