Bomb hoax calls to be made cognizable offence: Naidu

Bomb hoax calls, which have affected more than 90 flights of Indian carriers since October 14, will soon be made a cognizable offence under Indian laws, Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu said on Monday.

- DEEPAK PATEL

"We have come to the conclusion that there are two areas that we can explore. One is the amendment in Aircraft Security Rules... once we catch the perpetrators, we will put them on the no-fly list," he said.

"Second thing is the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act, 1982. Multiple offences such as committing violence onboard an aircraft and destruction or damage to air navigation facilities have already been listed under this Act. It takes care of offences in the flight. We want to expand to include offences such as hoax calls when the aircraft is at an airport," he said.