Teenager detained in connection to hoax bomb threats to Indian carriers

The Mumbai Police has nabbed a minor in connection to the spree of hoax bomb threats received by Indian airlines in the last 72 hours. According to reports, the minor sent bomb threats to four flights using a fake social media account that he made in his friend's name to implicate him.

The messages were posted by a 17-year-old, class 11 student fromRajnandgaon in the central-eastern Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Both the boy and his father had been summoned to Mumbai for questioning.

Of the four flights that the minor sent threats to, two got delayed while one was cancelled. The police believe that it was a revenge plot as the accused had some dispute with a friend over money.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

According to the investigators, the information related to the threat messages was first received by the authorities on Monday (Oct 14) morning. Since then, two more FIRs have been registered.

“On Tuesday, the minor was questioned in the case. After technical analysis indicated his role, he was detained and presented before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) that sent him to four-day custody for police inquiry,” a senior police officer was quoted as saying by newspaper TheIndian Express.

Bomb threats to flights

Notably, earlier on Wednesday (Oct 16), a Delhi-Bengaluru Akasa Air flight with 184 people returned to the Indira Gandhi International Airport after receiving a bomb threat.

“Akasa Air flight QP 1335, flying from Delhi to Bengaluru on October 16, 2024, and carrying 174 passengers, 3 infants and 7 crew members on board, received a security alert," the airline said in a statement.

"The Akasa Air Emergency Response teams are monitoring the situation and have advised the pilot to divert the flight to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi with abundant precaution."

Similarly, on Tuesday (Oct 15) night, a Delhi-bound IndiGo flight from Mumbai was diverted to Ahmedabad after it received a bomb threat, which turned out to be a hoax.

Moreover, Air India's Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft en route to Chicago from Delhi wasalso diverted to a Canadian airport after receiving a bomb threat.

High-level meeting

The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Wednesday called for a high-level meeting to look into the issue. Prior to the meeting,Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu took note of the recent incidents with the Bureau of Civil Aviation, CISF, and other senior officials in airport security.

(With inputs from agencies)