Bomb threats to flights: Delhi Police registers FIR, begins probe in threat messages to airlines

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The Delhi Police has registered an FIR in connection with bomb threats to flights and launched a probe into the matter, official sources said on Wednesday, reported the PTI.

Several domestic and international flights in the last couple of days received bomb threats leading to emergency landings and diversions.

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According to sources, an FIR has been registered at the IGI airport police station as different flights received the threats through a social media handle in the last two days, as per the PTI.

A Bengaluru-bound Akasa Air flight with more than 180 people on board returned to the national capital following a bomb threat.

These aircraft were scheduled to fly to different countries and states, a police officer said.

In the past two days, nearly a dozen Indian flights, including some international flights, received bomb threats but nothing suspicious was found in the planes.

The Delhi Police said the number of FIRs may increase.

Meanwhile, the issue of multiple hoax threats to various airlines came up before a parliamentary committee on Wednesday as the civil aviation secretary told parliamentarians that the accused are being identified and action will be taken against them, the news agency reported.

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday sought a report from the Ministry of Civil Aviation on a series of bomb threats to various airlines across the country, reported the ANI.

According to the ANI, a senior official has confirmed that MHA has instructed the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Bureau of Civil Aviation, National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) to submit a report on bomb threats that have been received recently.

"Senior officials of MHA have instructed all concerned security agencies in the aviation sector to prepare a report on the matter and submit it at the earliest. The investigation will be monitored by the central intelligence agency to find out if it was a conspiracy to damage the reputation Indian aviation sector," said the official, as per the ANI.

The official further said that they have also alerted cyber units to be on alert and track the social media accounts posting threats. Most of the accounts that have posted threats were found to be operated from outside the country. They have got these accounts suspended as soon they come to notice, the ANI reported.

(with PTI and ANI inputs)