Mangaluru Airport bomb planter Aditya Rao had shopped on Amazon, assembled bomb at home

News Network
March 17, 2022

Mangaluru, Mar 17: The man, who was awarded 20 years of imprisonment for planting an improvised explosive bomb at the Mangaluru International Airport in January 2020, had managed to get raw materials to prepare the explosive from online service provider Amazon, as per the judgement.

Investigation agencies have submitted a report to the court about the accused Aditya Rao (37) procuring raw materials to make explosives online and in the 80-page judgement, the court mentions the same.

They found that the accused with an intention to explore the substance so as to cause terror and endanger human life, had pre-planned an outline and collected the information for preparing improvised explosive substances by calling up 'Just Dial' company, the investigation agencies have stated.

Rao had visited several cyber centres, browsing centres as well as internet centres and collected the information. Upon such collection of information, he had ordered the necessary raw materials for explosives from the Amazon website, the investigation report says.

After collecting the raw materials without any license, the accused had discreetly stored them in the staff quarters of a family restaurant in Mangaluru.

Without permission from any authority, he had mixed the raw materials and prepared improvised explosive substances. After this, he had kept that improvised explosive substance in a black bag and moved it to the sensitive and crowded area at the departure gate of Mangaluru International Airport, the report says.

He had left the black back containing improvised explosive substances at the airport and escaped from the place.

In 2018, the accused had applied for a security supervisor post at Bengaluru airport and had spent Rs 7,500 for securing the post. When his attempts failed and he could not get the security supervisor job, he had made a hoax call that there is a bomb in Bangalore Airport and railway station.

Later, he was arrested and sentenced to one-year imprisonment. After serving the sentence of one year he had developed hatred towards the government and with this hatred, he had committed the offence punishable under Section 4 of the Explosive Substances Act of 1908 and section 16 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967.

The facts which emerged from the prosecution papers are that the accused with an intention to threaten the unity integrated security and sovereignty of India had placed the improvised explosive substances, the judge observed.

The Fourth Additional District and Session's Court of Dakshina Kannada district Judge B.R. Pallavi convicted the accused 37-year-old Adithya Rao for 20 years of imprisonment on March 11.

The accused has been found guilty under Section 4 of the Explosive Substances Act 1908 and Section 16 of the Prevention of Unlawful Activities Act 1967. He has also been fined Rs 10,000.

Adithya Rao had planted the bomb in the Mangaluru International Airport on January 20, 2020. The authorities got the bomb detected and disposed it of the same day.

The police department had launched a hunt for the accused. The development had led to many speculations and created tension all over the state.

However, the convict Aditya Rao surrendered himself at the Director General and Inspector General office.

He has been in jail since then. Rao, a resident of Manipal in Udupi district, had pleaded guilty before the court.

Even though the accused pleaded guilty, the court by exercising discretion under section 229 of CrPC had invited the prosecution to prove charges levelled against the accused.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
December 4,2025

Udupi: A 40-year-old NRI from Udupi has reportedly lost more than Rs 12.25 lakh in an online investment scam operated through Telegram.

According to a complaint filed at the CEN police station, Leo Jerome Mendonsa, who has been working in Dubai for the past 15 years in computer accessories sales, maintains NRI accounts in Karkala and Nitte.

On November 12, 2025, Mendonsa was added to a Telegram group called Instaflow Earnings by unknown individuals. Users identified as Priya and Dipannita persuaded him to invest in “Revenue Tasks.” Initially, Mendonsa transferred Rs 1,100 multiple times and received the promised returns, encouraging him to continue.

On November 14, another user, Nishmitha Shetty, directed him to register on a website, digitvisionuoce.cc, and invest Rs 4 lakh in various shares. Over the next few days, he made multiple transfers totaling Rs 12,25,000, including Rs 50,000 via Google Pay, believing the scheme was legitimate.

After receiving the money, the alleged handlers stopped responding, and neither the invested amount nor the promised profits were returned.

The CEN police have registered a case under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act and Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and investigations are ongoing.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
December 6,2025

indigoticket.jpg

With IndiGo flight disruptions impacting thousands of passengers, the airline on Saturday said that it will offer full waiver on all cancellations/reschedule requests for travel bookings between December 5, 2025 and December 15, 2025.

Earlier in the day, the civil aviation ministry had directed the airline to complete the ticket refund process for the cancelled flights by Sunday evening, as well as ensure baggage separated from the travellers are delivered in the next two days.

In a post on X, titled 'No questions asked', IndiGo wrote, "In response to recent events, all refunds for your cancellations will be processed automatically to your original mode of payment."

"We are deeply sorry for the hardships caused," it further added.

Several passengers, however, complained of not getting full refund as promised by the airline.

Netizens have shared screenchots of getting charged for airline cancellation fee and convenience fee.

"Please tell me why u have did this airline cancellation charges when u say full amount will be refunded (sic)," a user wrote sharing a screenshot of the refund page.

"Well, but you have still debited the convenience charges," wrote another.

Passengers have also raised concerns about the "cancel" option being disabled on the IndiGo app. "First enable the 'Cancel' button on your App & offer full refund on tickets cancelled by customers between the said dates," wrote a user.

A day after the country's largest airline, IndiGo, cancelled more than 1,000 flights and caused disruptions for the fifth day on Saturday, the ministry said that any delay or non-compliance in refund processing will invite immediate regulatory action.

The refund process for all cancelled or disrupted flights must be completed by 8 pm on Sunday, the ministry said in a statement.

"Airlines have also been instructed not to levy any rescheduling charges for passengers whose travel plans were affected by cancellations," it said.

On Saturday, more than 400 flights were cancelled at various airports.

IndiGo has also been instructed to set up dedicated passenger support and refund facilitation cells.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
November 26,2025

Mangaluru, Nov 26: Mangaluru East police have registered a case following a sophisticated online fraud where a 57-year-old local resident was allegedly cheated out of ₹13.4 lakh after being targeted on Facebook.

The scam began in February when the complainant, while browsing Facebook reels, was contacted by a woman identifying herself as "Lillian Mary George" from London. After establishing a chat relationship, the woman claimed she would visit India in November and bring a significant sum of money.

The trap was sprung on November 15, when the victim received a call from a woman named "Sonali Gupta," who claimed Lillian had arrived at Mumbai International Airport but was detained by customs. The fraudsters convinced the man that Lillian was carrying £25,000 (about ₹26 lakh) in traveller’s cheques and 1 kg of gold (valued at around ₹30 lakh).

Under the pretense of clearing these items, the victim was asked to make numerous online transfers between November 15 and 18 for various bogus charges, including:

•    "Pounds exchange registration"
•    "Customs declaration issues"
•    "Discount charges"
•    "Money-laundering charges"

Believing the fictitious story, the complainant transferred the cumulative sum of ₹13.4 lakh to various bank accounts provided by the fraudsters. He realised he was cheated when the culprits later promised a refund within two days but stopped answering his calls. The Mangaluru East police are now investigating the case, which highlights the continuing threat of transnational cyber fraud using social engineering and promises of fictitious wealth.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.