PUNE: When pilots of a flight carrying ex-Maharashtra minister Tanaji Sawant’s son to Bangkok were asked mid-way to return to Pune, they thought it was a “hoax” message, but complied after verification from aviation authorities, an airline executive has said. The chartered flight, operated by a private firm, carrying Rishiraj Sawant (32) and his two friends returned to Pune airport between 8 pm and 8.30 pm on Monday, abruptly cutting short a trip to the Thailand capital which was not disclosed to the former minister, who is leader of the ruling Shiv Sena, and his family.
The decision to divert the airborne plane to Pune was made only after due verification, the executive of the company operating the airline insisted on Wednesday. In a dramatic turn of events, Rishiraj Sawant and his two friends, heading to Bangkok on what they later claimed was a “business trip”, were hurriedly brought back to Pune after police registered a kidnapping case following an anonymous call and intervention of his father Tanaji Sawant.
“When we received the first call (from family members) asking us to turnaround the flight, we did not believe it. We cannot believe these kinds of calls as they could be hoax,” the executive from the airline operator said. “But after due verification from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and knowing it pertained to a kidnapping case being probed by police, the decision to turnaround the flight was taken and it returned to Pune,” he said.
He said the civil aviation regulator DGCA appreciated his company for the decision to recall the flight mid-way. The executive maintained it was perhaps the first-of-its-kind instance in which a flight was recalled mid-way, citing registration of a criminal case against a passenger. “Such things happen only in case of some sort of emergency, such as medical or technical emergency,” he said.
When the flight was asked to return to the Pune airport, it was flying over Port Blair (Sri Vijaya Puram) in the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the three persons onboard was not informed about the diversion to avoid ruckus or arguments with the pilots and crew members, explained the executive. “The screen in front of the passengers showing maps and navigation were already switched off, and they had no inkling their plane was returning to Pune without their knowledge. They were relaxing after having food,” he said.
“After touching down at the Pune International Airport, the passenger (Rushiraj) and the two others were surprised and angrily questioned the pilots. The pilot-in-command told them they were just following instructions,” he said. Once the flight touched down at the Pune airport, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel quickly went inside and escorted them out of the plane, according to the executive.
The flight operator received a few calls from the DGCA and provided all necessary information, he said, adding, “We explained everything to them and presented the SOPs that were followed.” It all began after the Pune police received an anonymous call at around 4 pm on Monday that Rishiraj Sawant was taken away by some unidentified persons.
Police swiftly registered a kidnapping case as panicked Tanaji Sawant rushed to the police commissioner’s office for help. Investigations suggested Rishiraj Sawant, along with his two friends, had booked a chartered plane for Bangkok without informing his family, according to the police. Rishiraj Sawant later told the police he kept his “business trip” to the Thailand capital secret to avoid his family’s wrath.
Meanwhile, local leaders of the opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) approached the Sinhgad Road police station, where the kidnapping offence was registered, and alleged former minister Tanaji Sawant misused the police machinery to bring his son back. They questioned the police’s urgency in filing a kidnapping case after receiving a call from an anonymous person.
