Latest news with #Anti-HijackingAct


India Today
10 hours ago
- India Today
Birju Salla, infamous for Jet Airways bomb hoax, arrested in cheating case
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police on Friday arrested Birju Salla for allegedly cheating and defrauding a Mumbai-based jeweller of Rs 12.77 on a tip-off, Mumbai EOW, with assistance from the Ahmedabad Crime Branch, apprehended him from a five-star hotel in Ahmedabad on Salla, who gained notoriety as the first person to be convicted under the Anti-Hijacking Act, was later acquitted in the same case by the Gujarat High Court. advertisement In 2017, he was accused of placing a hijack threat note onboard a Jet Airways flight, leading to his arrest and subsequent conviction by a sessions court. However, the Gujarat High Court overturned the is also a suspect in a separate hijacking threat incident involving an IndiGo Airlines flight from the latest case, Salla had reportedly been absconding after allegedly defrauding the jeweller. Mumbai Police is conducting a further investigation into the case.- Ends IN THIS STORY#Mumbai


Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Mumbai Economic Offences Wing takes custody of hijack threat accused Birju Salla in Rs 12.77 crore fraud case
Ahmedabad: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police took custody of Birju Salla, a Mumbai-based businessman previously convicted in a hijack threat case, from the Ahmedabad city crime branch on Thursday morning. The action follows his arrest in a multi-crore cheating case involving a jewellery businessman in Mumbai. According to crime branch officials, Salla was arrested on Wednesday from a five-star hotel on Ashram Road where he checked in under a false identity. He was wanted in connection with a Rs 12.77 crore jewellery fraud registered by the EOW of Mumbai police. Soon after his arrest, a Mumbai police team arrived in Ahmedabad and formally took over his custody for further investigation. Salla is already under scrutiny in two separate threat note cases — one involving a bomb threat on an IndiGo flight from Ahmedabad to Jeddah in Nov 2024, and another targeting the Ahmedabad airport in Jan this year. He gained notoriety in 2017 after planting a hijack threat note on a Jet Airways flight and was the first person to be booked under the stringent Anti-Hijacking Act, 2016. He was sentenced to life imprisonment but was later acquitted by the Gujarat high court in 2023 due to lack of evidence. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo You Can Also Check: Ahmedabad AQI | Weather in Ahmedabad | Bank Holidays in Ahmedabad | Public Holidays in Ahmedabad In the Mumbai case, complainant Shailesh Jain, a jewellery businessman from Zaveri Bazaar, alleged that Salla took jewellery worth Rs 14 crore on approval in Nov 2024 and failed to return articles valued at Rs 12.77 crore. His anticipatory bail was denied on June 27. Salla is now being questioned in both fraud and bomb hoax cases.


Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Mumbai EOW takes custody of Birju Salla in jewellery fraud case
Ahmedabad: Mumbai Police's economic offences wing (EOW) took custody of Birju Salla, a Mumbai-based businessman previously convicted and then acquitted in a hijack-threat case, from Ahmedabad City Police's crime branch Thursday morning. The action follows his arrest in a multi-crore cheating case involving a Mumbai jeweller. Crime branch officials said Salla was arrested Wednesday from a city five-star hotel where he had checked in under a false identity. He was wanted in connection with a Rs 12.7 crore jewellery fraud case registered by Mumbai Police's EOW. Soon after his arrest, a Mumbai Police team arrived in Ahmedabad and formally took over his custody. Shailesh Jain, a jewellery businessman from Mumbai's Zaveri Bazaar, alleged Salla took jewellery worth Rs 14 crore on approval in Nov 2024 but failed to return articles valued at Rs 12.7 crore. Salla's anticipatory bail was denied on June 27. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Salla is already under scrutiny in two separate cases — one involving a bomb threat on an IndiGo flight to Jeddah in Nov 2024 and another targeting Ahmedabad airport in Jan this year. He gained notoriety in 2017 after allegedly planting a hijack-threat note on a Jet Airways flight and was the first person to be convicted under the Anti-Hijacking Act, 2016. He was sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court but was acquitted by Gujarat HC in 2023 due to lack of evidence. Salla is being questioned in both fraud and bomb hoax cases.


Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Now, Birju Salla questioned in 2 more bomb threat cases
1 2 Ahmedabad: Birju Salla, a businessman from Mumbai who gained infamy as the first person to be convicted under the amended Anti-Hijacking Act for the hijack threat on a Jet Airways flight in 2017, has been detained by the Ahmedabad crime branch police yet again on suspicions of planting a bomb threat note on another flight in November last year and a threat note received by city airport in January this year. While Salla is being questioned with regard to threat notes, the city crime branch arrested him on Wednesday in connection with a case of fraud he allegedly committed in Mumbai. After knowing about Salla's arrest, a team of EOW of Mumbai police reached the city crime branch office to take Salla's custody, sources said. Salla is suspected to be behind a bomb threat note found on an IndiGo Airlines' Lucknow-Jeddah flight on Nov 10, 2024, just before its scheduled departure. On Wednesday morning, the Ahmedabad crime branch picked up Salla for questioning from a five-star hotel on Ashram Road in the city, where he had reportedly checked in under a false identity after being recently named in a Rs 12.77 crore fraud by a Mumbai jeweller. Besides the bomb hoax charges, officers said he may also be booked for using forged documents to assume a new identity. You Can Also Check: Ahmedabad AQI | Weather in Ahmedabad | Bank Holidays in Ahmedabad | Public Holidays in Ahmedabad On Oct 30, 2017, Salla threw an entire airline into chaos with planting a hijack threat in the plane toilet, and was convicted for life by a National Investigation Agency (NIA) court. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Is it better to shower in the morning or at night? Here's what a microbiologist says CNA Read More Undo He was acquitted of the charges in 2023 by the Gujarat high court for lack of evidence after spending six years in prison. A crime branch officer said, "Salla again wanted to take revenge on a person who is yet to be confirmed, and planted another piece of paper last year with 'bumb' written on it. There is multiple evidence showing he was behind those threats." On Nov 10 last year, the bomb threat was found taped to the seat of a commode on the IndiGo flight with 158 passengers including two children, just before its scheduled departure from Ahmedabad at 10.55pm. A crew member spotted the note at 10.38pm during routine checks. Following security protocols, all passengers were deboarded, and a thorough search was conducted. No explosive was found. Authorities declared the incident a hoax. The flight had a scheduled halt in Ahmedabad, said a crime branch officer. The officer said, "Another such threat was issued for the city airport in January this year. Both cases were filed with Airport police and the complaint pertaining to the threat received in November last year was transferred to the city crime branch for investigation." On June 10 this year, Mumbai's Shailesh Kantilal Jain, who runs a handmade jewellery business from Zaveri Bazaar and has known Salla professionally for years, filed an FIR against him with Mumbai police's Economic Offences Wing. The 56-year-old's FIR states, "On Nov 18, 2024, Salla allegedly took jewellery worth Rs 14 crore from Jain on an approval basis." Salla allegedly returned only Rs 1.47 crore worth of goods between Nov 25 and Dec 20, 2024, but the remaining articles worth Rs 12.77 crore (including GST), was never returned, Jain has alleged and has submitted copies of signed approval vouchers, post-dated cheques, and screenshots of conversations as evidence. Based on the complaint, Mumbai police booked Salla for cheating and criminal breach of trust. A crime branch officer said that Salla approached a Mumbai court with his anticipatory bail plea, which was rejected on June 27. "After that, he allegedly went underground and used forged documents to hide in Ahmedabad. He forged an Aadhaar card and used a different identity to stay in the five-star hotel on Ashram Road but was finally caught," the officer said.


Indian Express
2 days ago
- Indian Express
Wanted for ‘defrauding jeweller of ornaments worth Rs 12.77 crore', Mumbai-based trader held in Ahmedabad
Wanted in Maharashtra in a Ponzi scam involving allegedly defrauding a jeweller of ornaments worth Rs 12.77 crore, a Mumbai-based businessman was arrested in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. The Ahmedabad Crime Branch arrested Birju Salla from a five-star hotel in the city. In 2017, Salla was nabbed after he allegedly put a hijack threat note inside a Jet Airways plane following which the flight had to make an emergency landing in Ahmedabad. Though a special NIA court in Ahmedabad had sentenced Salla to life imprisonment, he was granted bail by the Gujarat High Court in 2023 for want of evidence. In the latest case, Salla was booked by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in Mumbai, based on the complaint of a jeweller, Shailesh Jain. According to the FIR lodged at Mumbai's L T Marg police station, in November 2024, Salla had taken 7,214 grams of gold worth Rs 5.55 lakh along with 32,915 grams of silver and precious diamonds worth Rs 8.15 crore from Jain, a jeweller based in Zaveri Bazar, on the pretext of selling it to a customer, who wanted 'antique and handmade jewellery'. In his FIR, Jain stated that Salla promised to pay him the money based on the quantities sold, and return the rest of the jewellery. Jain told police that though Salla returned some of the jewellery, he has been 'evading' the complainant even as he continues to allegedly possess 5,972 grams of gold and 18,965 grams of silver and some diamond jewellery. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Detection of Crime Branch, Ahmedabad City, Ajit Rajiaan told The Indian Express that Salla is currently being questioned by the Crime Branch in Ahmedabad. 'He has a history of involvement in bomb and hijack threats, so we are also probing him on that. He is wanted in a Ponzi scam in Maharashtra,' the DCP added. Salla was convicted and awarded life imprisonment by an NIA court, under the Anti-Hijacking Act, 2016, in July 2019 for allegedly keeping a hijack threat note in a Jet Airways flight on October 30, 2017. In August 2023, a Division Bench of the Gujarat HC, comprising Justice A S Supehia and Justice M R Mengdey, had acquitted Salla for lack of evidence linking him to the hijack note. The Jet Airways flight from Mumbai to Delhi had made an emergency landing at the Ahmedabad airport after a note was found that stated that there were 'hijackers on board the flight and the aircraft should be flown straight to PoK'.