A Bom-Del Flight Query Lands Indian Origin US Citizen In Jail. Airline Staff Heard It 'Bomb Hai'.

The apparent misunderstanding between a caller and a telephone operator in Mumbai airport has landed an Indian origin man in police custody for making hoax bomb threat.

It all began on Sunday with the man, Vinod Moorjani, a US-based CEO of an IT company, who was to travel from Mumbai to Delhi and then fly Delhi-Rome on an Air India flight, en route to Virginia, along with his wife and two children.

BCCL/ Representational Image

With the flight delayed due weather, Moorjani who was concerned that he may miss his flight to Rome made a call to Mumbai Airport's toll-free number.

According to Moorjani's lawyer, he asked the operator for Bom-Del status, referring to the flight code on the ticket. When the operator on the other side asked him what he meant, an irritated Moorjani hung up the phone.

But according to the telephone operator she heard Moorjani saying 'Bomb hai' and then he hung up the phone.

Two hours later Moorjani and his family were offloaded and the 45-year-old who was on a short visit to Mumbai to meet friends was arrested for making hoax bomb threat.

BCCL/ Representational Image

Police said Moorjani had made a bomb hoax call to disrupt schedules so that he could still get the late-night connection from Delhi to Rome in case he was late in arriving in the capital.

Moorjani who was produced in a Mumbai court was released on bail.

This is not the first time, people have landed in trouble over the confusion between Bombay and Mumbai.

BCCL/ Representational Image

In May a group of six youths from Kerala who were visiting Mumbai for the first time was detained by railway police while travelling on a local train for a bomb threat.

Later, it turned out the youths, who did not know Hindi or English were talking about "Bombay" which some co-passengers mistook for bomb.