YouTuber arrested for falsely claiming he spent day inside airport without detection

A YouTuber was arrested after he shared a video falsely claiming to have spent a day at an airport in India by hoodwinking security.

Vikas Gowda, 23, entered the Kempegowda airport in the southern city of Bengaluru earlier this month with a valid Air India flight ticket for Chennai.

Instead of boarding the flight, Mr Gowda claimed in a video uploaded to his YouTube channel on 12 April he spent more than 24 hours roaming inside the airport.

The Bengaluru resident alleged that he recorded videos on his mobile phone throughout the time without being noticed or questioned by the airport security.

The video went viral, prompting the Central Industrial Security Force, responsible for the airport’s security, to file a complaint alleging the spread of misinformation.

Mr Gowda was arrested on charges of statements conducive to public mischief and trespass under the Indian Penal Code.

He was subsequently released on bail and made to delete the video from his YouTube channel, which has 113,000 subscribers.

"He entered the airport and cleared the security check at Terminal 2 of the Kempegowda International Airport and headed towards the boarding lounge," deputy commissioner of police Laxmi Prasad said.

"But instead of boarding the plane, he was roaming around in the airport premises and spent nearly six hours at the airport."

An initial investigation revealed that Mr Gowda spent around six hours inside the airport before walking out.

"He told security personnel at the gate he had missed his flight. Since he had the air ticket and boarding pass, no one suspected him," the police officer was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

"All his claims in the video posted were exaggerated.”