By Zach Patberg
Amandeep and Gurpreet Singh were suspected of making the phony threat to prevent their sister from flying out to meet her boyfriend, who owns a gas station in the South.”They felt if they stopped her from leaving, it would force her to accept this marriage,” Suffolk County Police Spokesman Tim Motz said.According to police, who arrested the brothers Friday, the two called the airport's fire, rescue and emergency unit at 2 a.m. on Jan. 17 saying a terrorist would be on a Delta Airlines plane flying out the next day at 6 a.m.It was unclear whether they meant four or 28 hours from then, but authorities believe it was referring to the flight the 30-year-old sister was supposed to take that day to elope with her boyfriend.Airport security “determined very quickly that it was not a creditable threat,” however, and the public was not notified nor were any flights disrupted, Motz said, adding that the two had no ties to any terrorist groups.The sister, who was not identified, was apparently going against the wishes of her family, which had arranged a wedding for her with a doctor in India.”The brothers thought it was below their sister to marry a gas attendant in Middle America,” Motz said.But that is exactly what she did two days later, officials confirmed.Although police did not disclose where the boyfriend lived, news reports said his gas station was in Arkansas.Police arrested Amandeep, 24, a financial analyst, and Gurpreet, 24, a medical student, after linking them as brothers to a woman flying one way, authorities said.They were charged with the misdemeanor of falsely reporting a terrorist threat and released on “stationhouse” bail, which is handed down by the police rather than the courts and carries a nominal fee. They are due in court April 10.Reach reporter Zach Patberg by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 155.
