Jet Airways passenger's tweet to PM Narendra Modi triggers hijack scare – Here's what exactly happened

Jaipur: Little did a Jet Airways passenger know that his tweet to Prime Minister Narendra Modi would trigger such a big problem.

On Thursday, a Jet Airways flight en route from Mumbai to Delhi was diverted to Jaipur due to bad weather, which led an apparently irritated passenger vent his anger on Twitter. The man did not shy away from tagging the PM in the tweet.

"@narendramodi sir we have been in jet airways flight for past 3 hrs, looks like hijacked, pl help 9W355," tweeted an annoyed Nitin Verma to the PM.

Security agencies swung into action after they were promptly alerted about the tweet and Verma was offloaded here from the plane carrying 176 people on board, including eight crew members.

Soon after the aircraft landed, security agencies carried out a thorough check of the aircraft. The aircraft took off for Delhi without the passenger who had sent the officials and the security agencies into a tizzy with his tweet.

Verma was arrested after questioning late last night. "He has been booked under under IPC section 505 (statements conducing public mischief),” said SHO Sanganer Shivratan Godara.

In a statement, a Jet Airways spokesperson said a passenger tweeted a message involving a security threat necessitating activation of the security protocol.

"The information was promptly shared with the authorities concerned including the CISF, and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and local law enforcement agencies in line with standard operating procedures," he said.

@narendramodi sir we have been in jet airways flight for past 3 hrs , looks like hijacked, pl help 9W355,. pic.twitter.com/bcRXcCLgic — Nitin (@nitinvarma5n) April 27, 2017

According to the spokesperson, the passenger was subsequently offloaded for questioning by security agencies at Jaipur, owing to diversion of the flight.

Acting director of Jaipur airport MP Bansal told PTI that five Jet Airways flights and one of Oman Air which were to land in Delhi were diverted to Jaipur airport due to inclement weather.

(With PTI inputs)