Youth arrested for sending hoax bomb threats to flights at Delhi's IGI Airport

New Delhi: Police arrested a 25-year-old man for allegedly sending bomb threat emails targeting a flight at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. Shubham Upadhyay, a resident of Uttam Nagar in Delhi, reportedly sent two bomb threats to draw attention after watching similar news stories, reported PTI.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI) Usha Rangnani stated that, during the night of 26-29 October, the airport received two suspicious emails containing potential bomb threats. "Immediate action was taken, and standard security protocols were activated, but the threats were determined to be hoaxes," she said.

Authorities registered a case under section 3(1)(d) of the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation (SUA SCA) Act, 1982, and section 351(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), initiating an investigation. They traced the emails back to an account registered in Upadhyay's name.

Using manual intelligence and technical surveillance, police located Upadhyay, who is unemployed and has completed his Class 12 education, and questioned him. Rangnani reported that he confessed to sending the threats to gain attention after seeing similar news reports on television. Investigators continue to probe the incident.

In her public statement, Rangnani reassured the public that robust security measures are in place and encouraged everyone to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the authorities. Over the past ten days, the Delhi Police have registered eight FIRs linked to bomb threats affecting more than 100 domestic and international flights.

The first incident occurred on 16 October when a bomb threat message targeting a Bengaluru-bound Akasa Air flight carrying over 180 passengers forced the aircraft to return to Delhi. Police subsequently requested account details from the social media platform X but could not obtain the user’s information.

In light of the recent surge in hoax threats targeting multiple airlines, the Ministry of Information and Technology has instructed social media platforms to comply with due diligence requirements and promptly remove or disable access to false information, as stipulated under IT rules.