NEW DELHI, Oct 28: After a day of relative lull, more than 60 flights operated by the Indian carriers received bomb threats on Monday, even as the police has arrested a person in Delhi for allegedly posting threat messages to a flight at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi, police said.
Shubham Upadhyay, a resident of Uttam Nagar in the national capital, was arrested for posting two bomb threat messages to draw attention after seeing similar news reports on TV, the police said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI) Usha Rangnani said during the intervening night of October 26 and 27, two suspicious and potential bomb threat messages were received at IGI Airport through an email account.
“Immediate action was taken and standard security protocols were followed but the threat was found to be hoax,” she said. A case under section 3(1)(d) of the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation (SUA SCA) Act, 1982 and 351(4) the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered and an investigation was initiated.
During investigation, the origin of the messages was traced to an account registered to Mr Upadhyay. Based on manual intelligence and technical surveillance, Mr Upadhyay was apprehended and interrogated. He is a Class 12 pass unemployed man. Ms Rangnani said Mr Upadhyay has admitted to sending the messages after seeing similar news reports on television. He sent the messages to draw attention, she added. The matter was currently under further investigation, she said.
In the last 15 days, over 410 domestic and international flights operated by the Indian carriers have received hoax bomb threats. Most of the threats were issued through social media. The sources said around 21 flights each of Air India and IndiGo, and about 20 flights of Vistara received the threats on Monday.
An Air India spokesperson said a number of its flights were subject to security threats received on social media on Monday. “Following the laid down protocols, relevant authorities were immediately alerted, and all security procedures strictly adhered to, as per guidance from the regulatory authorities,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Against the backdrop of a spate of hoax bomb threats to airlines, the IT Ministry has asked social media platforms to observe due diligence obligations and promptly remove or disable access to misinformation within the strict timelines prescribed under IT rules. Also, the civil aviation ministry is looking to take legislative actions to tackle the menace of the hoax bomb threats to airlines.
The IGI deputy police commissioner re-assured the fliers about the strict security measured being followed by the authorities. In a statement, Ms Rangnani said, “We reassure the public that all necessary security measures are in place and there is no cause for alarm. We encourage everyone to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the authorities.” The Delhi Police has registered eight separate FIRs in connection with bomb threats to more than 100 domestic and international flights over the past 10 days.
(Manas Dasgupta)