The Karippur police in Kerala have apprehended Ovingal Mohammed Ijas, 26, from Palakkad in connection with a bomb threat directed at an Air Arabia flight scheduled to depart from Kozhikode to Abu Dhabi on October 28. Ijas allegedly issued the threat via email in an attempt to get the flight cancelled. This is the third arrest related to the series of bomb threats made to airlines.

According to the police, Ijas used his personal email account to send the hoax message to the Kozhikode airport director at approximately 5.10 pm on October 28. “In the email, Ijas claimed that a bomb had been planted on Air Arabia flight 3L 204 and warned that the plane should not be allowed to take off. Airport officials immediately informed us, and we initiated an investigation with the support of the cyber cell,” said an officer.