*KOLKATA: A passenger was taken off an Indian plane and detained forquestioning after he posted a photo of himself on Snapchat alongside theword “terrorist”, officials said Tuesday.*
Yogvedant Poddar, 21, was removed from the Jet Airways flight after apassenger spotted him typing “Terrorist on flight, I destroy women´shearts” into his phone.
The caption accompanied a photo he had taken of himself which showed halfof his face covered with a handkerchief, Kolkata deputy police commissionerAvvaru Ravindranath told AFP.
Irish national Benjamin Plackett was sitting behind Poddar on the MondayKolkata to Mumbai service flight and alerted the cabin crew as the planewas being prepared for take-off.
Poddar was taken off the flight and detained for almost ten hours beforebeing let go without charge, Ravindranath said.
“We questioned him extensively. We found no terror link. It was a messagethat was meant exclusively for his friends and was not intended to threatenor hurt anyone,” said the police official.
Jet Airways said in a statement that a passenger had been “deplaned forsecurity reasons”.
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“The aircraft departed for its destination with a revised flight timing”after the necessary checks had been carried out, the airline added.
In September an Indian passenger on a GoAir flight sparked panic in mid-airwhen he tried to open a plane door, apparently mistaking it for the toilet.
The same week, a passenger was kicked off an IndiGo service after he triedto access the cockpit to charge his phone while the plane was preparing fortake-off.
India´s aviation market is witnessing a massive increase in passengernumbers as its growing middle class take advantage of cheap fares andbetter connectivity, with many taking to the skies for the first time. -APP / AFP
