An Indian man was arrested Thursday after he sent police an email falsely claiming that he overheard a conversation that detailed plans of scheduled plane hijackings.
He sent the emails in an effort to get out of a planned vacation with his online girlfriend, police said.
According to CNN, Motaparthi Vamshi Krishna, 32, sent Mumbai police an email Saturday in which he claimed to be a woman who overheard six men plotting to hijack planes in three Indian cities: Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai.
Police increased security presence at three international airports in the cities after receiving the tip.
The email said the woman, who claimed that she couldn't provide details of her identity, overheard the conversation while having lunch at a hotel. The claim stated six Muslim men discussed a plan to have 23 people involved in the hijackings, authorities said.
"They spoke some other things also but I (could) not hear them, as I heard only these few sentences from them. I don't know do am I doing correct or not, and they are true or not but heard this so kindly go through this and as I informed this as a duty and a citizen of India and (please) don't make me to get into issues," the email read, in part.
Krishna wrote the fake email in an effort to get out of going on a trip with an online girlfriend, police said.
Hyderabad police tracked down Krishna after following the the IP address of the email to an internet cafe.
After being questioned, Krishna told police that he perpetrated the hoax after his girlfriend suggested that the two travel together and wouldn't take no for an answer.
Krishna, who didn’t have enough money for the trip, created a fake plane ticket for his girlfriend from Chennai to Mumbai. He emailed the fake ticket to the woman and hoped that her flight would get canceled after sending the anonymous tip to police.
“He didn't have the money, but if he canceled because of that, it would have hurt his pride, and his friendship with the girl would’ve come to an end,” said B. Limba Reddy, deputy commissioner of police at the Commissioner's Task Force in Hyderabad. “So, his thinking was that if the flight was to be canceled, and it was because of the airport, he wouldn’t be at fault.”
Krishna was charged with impersonation and providing false information, CNN reported. He could face jail time.
According to KTLA, Krishna is married with a child.
Read Krishna's full email to police here.
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