VARANASI: Swift action by the Bengaluru-Varanasi IndiGo flight crew averted a major tragedy by stopping a 30-year-old passenger, who claimed to be “possessed”, from opening the emergency exit door after takeoff and before landing.The passenger, Mohammad Adnan from Mau, was detained by CISF after the flight landed at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi and later handed over to Phulpur police. The flyer, who was coming to Varanasi from Goa via Bengaluru, left police and other agencies stunned with his bizarre claim that he was “possessed” and had no idea the button could open the exit door. An FIR was lodged against him under Section 125 (endangering human life or personal safety of others) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and an investigation has started, said Phulpur police station in-charge Atul Singh. Multiple agencies are investigating the incident.During the initial investigation, it was found that about 15 minutes after the flight took off from Bengaluru around 8.15 pm, Adnan first tried to tamper with the emergency exit, but was prevented by the cabin crew.However, just before landing at LBSI Airport around 10.20 pm, Adnan again tried to hit the emergency gate button. Alerted by the cabin crew, the pilot took the aircraft back up as a precautionary measure. Panic gripped passengers, but they heaved a sigh of relief when it finally landed safely around 10.35 pm.
