Man charged with making airport bomb threat claims he was misheard

An Indian businessman charged with making a bomb threat at Mumbai International Airport claims the incident was a misunderstanding based on how he inquired about his delayed flight.

Vinod Moorjani is accused of saying “bomb hai”, which translates to “there is a bomb”, during a call with a phone operator about the status of his Bombay-to-Delhi flight, the BBC reports.

The 45-year-old businessman claims he was misheard and actually said “Bom-Del” on the phone, referring to the locations of Bombay and Delhi.

However, police believe Mr Moorjani deliberately made the call after growing tired of the flight delays, hoping to disrupt outgoing flights so he wouldn’t miss his international connection in Rome, the Press Trust of India reports.

“Before the operator could hear more from Moorjani, he hung up the call, after which the operator alerted her seniors, who informed the police,” an official said.

Mr Moorjani, who is reportedly a CEO of a US company, and his wife and children were travelling from Mumbai to Virginia in the US.