Kochi: VJ detained for plane hijack scare

Kochi: The selfie addiction of a passenger went too far  when he shot a mobile selfie video before boarding the Kochi-Mumbai flight from Nedumbassery on Monday claiming to hijack the flight  using a ‘happy bomb’.  The accused, identified as TV host and video jockey Clince Varghese, 29, of Thrissur, currently residing in Mumbai, was taken into custody by the security personnel and was being questioned.  

According to the police, he arrived at the airport to catch the Jet Airways’  9W 825 Kochi-Mumbai flight which was scheduled to depart at 12 pm. “When Varghese came near  the boarding ladder,  he shot a video selfie using his mobile phone in which he was heard claiming that he will hijack the flight using ‘happy bomb’. The airline staff also overheard him  repeating the same to a friend on phone and alerted the airport security officers,” an airport spokesperson said. All the  passengers were offloaded from the flight and subjected to thorough security check.

“Varghese was offloaded and his baggage was checked following the complaint received by the domestic terminal manager who also alerted the CISF personnel. He was later handed over to the police,” the official said. The local police said the accused told them during interrogation that he was only expressing his happiness to his friend in Mumbai on Facebook chat.