Mangaluru Airport bomb scare: We cut ties with Aditya Rao 3 years ago, says brother

BENGALURU: The family of Aditya Rao, who triggered a bomb scare at Mangaluru airport on Monday, stopped communicating with him nearly three years ago, speaking to him only once, in 2018, when his mother passed away, said his younger brother.
Akshath Rao, a banker, hinted that Aditya’s behaviour had become problematic and their father’s repeated attempts to counsel him failed, following which the family decided to snap ties sometime in 2017.
Aditya, a 36-year-old outof-work mechanical engineer, was arrested on Wednesday for leaving a suspect package near a ticketing counter of Mangaluru airport. In 2018, he was arrested over bomb hoaxes at Bengaluru airport and KSR Railway station. He was released from prison last year.
“He is my brother, but I have not maintained any contact; my father has also distanced himself from Aditya. We are not responsible for his actions,” said Akshath, who lives with the father in Mangaluru. He added the family was cooperating with police investigations.
The family has roots in Manipal, Udupi district. The father worked as a banker and the mother was a homemaker. Aditya studied engineering and obtained an MBA degree. Akshath said he and Aditya grew up almost separately after the latter moved into a hostel in class VIII.
Aditya’s relationship with the family soured a few years ago. “We never contacted him. Even during his previous arrest, we didn’t approach him or try get him bail,” Akshath said. Their mother passed away when Aditya was in prison for the bomb hoaxes in Bengaluru. “We called him at Chikkaballapura Jail in February 2018 to inform him about the mother’s demise. That was the last time we spoke,” Akshath said. “As the eldest son, he had certain responsibilities. However, we didn’t encourage him to come. I performed the last rites.”
A few months ago, Akshath and his father moved from Manipal to Mangaluru.
Aditya reportedly worked in the billing section of a hotel in Balmatta, Mangaluru, from December 16 to January 12. His shift timings were 10am to 3pm and 6pm to 11pm. Hotel staff said he appeared to be an introvert and didn’t interact with colleagues, even when he was on a break.
“If someone poked fun at him, he would ignore them,” a staff member said. “He was given the job on compassionate grounds as he claimed his father was unwell. But he later quit, saying he had landed a job as a security officer in the education sector.” The family’s former neighbours in Manipal recounted that the Raos, who lived in HIG Colony on Mannapalla Road, were reserved and Aditya, in particular, rarely interacted with people. “He preferred to be alone,” said designer Poornima Bhojraj. “We learned he got many jobs but couldn’t hold on to them for long. He applied for a security guard’s job at a school and an airport and volunteered to serve food at Krishna mutt.”
He worked as a junior sales manager with a multinational bank in Bengaluru before joining another private bank. He left that stint too. Some neighbours said that Aditya seemed to be depressed.
A local recalled that his mother enjoyed gardening and planted many trees at the Mannapalla lakefront. It seems no one has been staying at the family property in Manipal. The gate was open on Wednesday and a red TVS bike was gathering dust. Officers from Mangaluru searched the house; nearby residents said they had not seen Aditya lately.
“The search was conducted after obtaining necessary permissions,” said an officer at the jurisdictional police station. Police sources claimed Aditya had run-ins with the law in Bengaluru. He was booked for stealing a laptop from an insurance firm in Jayanagar and another from his roommate in Suddaguntepalya.