NEW DELHI: Vistara Airlines flight from New Delhi was delayed for about 2 hours after a passenger said she overheard a fellow traveller speaking about a bomb in his bag, a claim that was later declared a hoax, official sources said Thursday.

The event happened on board flight UK-941 of Vistara Airlines, which had a 4:55 p.m. departure time from Delhi to Mumbai. A woman sitting next to the male traveller accidentally overheard bits of his conversation with his mother.

The individual seemed to have mentioned that the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) had taken a coconut out of his luggage because they thought it might be an explosive while leaving a packet of gutkha, a type of chewing tobacco, in his hands.

The worried women immediately informed the aircraft crew when she heard the phrase "bomb," and the crew then informed the CISF. The woman who overheard the exchange and the male passenger were asked to exit the flight as a precaution. Despite a thorough investigation of the entire aircraft, no potentially dangerous objects were found. Despite this, the woman made other plans to get to Mumbai and decided against getting back on the plane.

Before the flight could finally take off, the incident caused a two-hour delay. The male passenger was subsequently turned over to the IGI police, who have since filed a case against him. 

When a hoax phone claiming there was an explosive device aboard the Purushottam Express train at Dagmagpur station was received, the Indian Railways were put on high alert. When the event occurred, the train was travelling from Puri to Delhi.

When the hoax call was received by the Station Superintendent (SS) in Dagmagpur, urgent action and increased security were taken. The threat was quickly investigated by the authorities to determine its validity.

It was determined following a careful study and verification process that the bomb threat was in fact a deliberate hoax. As a result, the train, which had been stopped as a precaution, was given permission to continue travelling.

Vistara operates flights between Agartala and Bangalore, from August