British former child chess prodigy Aditya Verma might have to pay hefty fines after making a concerning statement about blowing up a packed Easyjet plane. At the age of 18, Verma had jokingly sent a message ‘On my way to blow up the plane. I’m a member of the Taliban,’ in a private Snapchat group before boarding an Easyjet flight to Menorca in July 2022. The message triggered a series of events, including the dispatch of Spanish military fighter jets and an arrest upon landing. The incident happened after Verma had finished exams at St Olave’s Grammar School in Kent and was going for vacation. Despite the severity of the situation, Spanish authorities have clarified that they are not pursuing a prison sentence for the young man.
As per BBC, Verma told a Madrid court, “The intention was never to cause public distress or cause public harm.” The youngster, who is now studying economics at Bath University, claimed the message was sent as “A joke in a private group setting. It was just sent to my friends I was travelling with on the day.” When the court asked about his motive behind sending such a message, Verma replied, “Since school, it’s been a joke because of my features. It was just to make people laugh.” Further, when questioned about his reaction to the fighter jets escorting the plane, Verma initially thought it was a military exercise linked to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. According to him, the pilot later addressed the passengers and clarified that the fighter jets were on air due to a distress signal sent by mistake.
Reports indicate that Aditya Verma’s message was detected by UK security services, prompting them to alert Spanish authorities while the Easyjet plane was on air. The message triggered concerns, after it was picked up via London Gatwick Airport’s Wi-Fi network. In response, two Spanish F-18 fighter jets were dispatched, while one of them followed the passenger flight until the plane safely landed in Menorca, where Verma was arrested and spent two days in police custody before being released on bail. Upon returning to the UK, he was questioned by British intelligence agencies MI5 and MI6.
Talking about the incident, Verma told Daily Mail, “It was a moment of madness which I regret and I’m so sorry for the trouble I caused. It was a joke and I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m sorry for ruining my friends’ holiday but it was all just a joke and I didn’t mean to scare anyone on the plane if they were frightened by what happened. I sent a Snapchat message to my friends as we were boarding. It was a joke as we had been saying who was going to be stopped and searched by the security. Now I just wish I hadn’t sent it. It was a stupid thing to do but I thought as if it was a private Snapchat just my friends would see it.”
In court, police revealed that they examined Verma’s phone and discovered research on clashes between Pakistan and India, as well as information about the potential Islamic State attack in that region. However, no evidence linking Verma to terrorism was found. As of now, Verma is not facing terrorism charges or a prison sentence. If found guilty, he could face a fine of up to €22,500 (approximately Rs 20 Lakh). Additionally, the Spanish defence ministry is asking for €95,000 (approximately Rs 85 Lakh) in expenses related to the incident.
Comments
0 comment