Prank call by man leads to bomb scare at Kolkata airport

KOLKATA: A prank played by a man to his childhood friend over phone led to a bomb scare at the Air India office at the city airport early today, security officials said.

Air India, however, denied that anything of this sort happened.

The security officials said that at about 2 AM, a woman employee of Air India got a call from the man, a childhood friend, at her home saying a bomb has been planted in a flight of the national carrier.

On being asked who he was, the caller said, " Osama bin Laden" and the call got disconnected.

The woman immediately informed the Air India security personnel in the NSCBI Airport.

Following a meeting of the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee, a thorough search was conducted in the airport but nothing was found, the officials said.

The security personnel then contacted the number from where that call was made to the woman. And it was found that the man was a childhood friend of the woman and he said those things to play a prank but the line got disconnected.

The woman also admitted that she knew him. No action was taken against the man, the officials said.