A local court here on Wednesday sentenced Aditya Rao, a mechanical engineer, to 20 years of imprisonment, besides slapping a fine of Rs 10,000, for planting an improvised explosive device (IED) near the ticketing counter at Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) on January 20, 2022.
Pallavi B R, the fourth additional district and sessions court Judge, found Rao guilty of the offence and convicted.
He was awarded five years of rigorous imprisonment for the offences under Section 4 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908 and 20 years rigorous imprisonment for the crimes under Section 16 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Default payment of fine amount will attract simple imprisonment of six months, the judge ruled.
The two sentences are concurrent, the judgement read.
The box he had abandoned was made of ammonium nitrate, sulphur, potassium chlorate and charcoal. It was wrapped up in a bag and placed near the ticket counter of the departure gate. Rao, who also holds an MBA degree, later surrendered to police in Bengaluru. He admitted during the interrogation that he had watched a video online to make explosives.
The Bengaluru police had arrested him for making hoax bomb call to Kempegowda International Airport in 2018 which disrupted schedules of many flights. He resorted to the act as he was denied the job of security guard at the KIA. He was also arrested for making a hoax call to a railway station in Bengaluru.
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