Bomb threats to flights: Chhattisgarh teen, his father summoned

The Mumbai police have issued a notice to a teenage boy, his father and another person from Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh to join questioning in connection with bomb threats posted on social media targeting three flights, officials said.

Three international flights originating from Mumbai received bomb threats on Monday.

While a New York-bound Air India flight was diverted to New Delhi and rescheduled, the other two to Muscat and Jeddah, both operated by IndiGo, were delayed by several hours as the planes were moved to isolation bays for security checks.

Nothing suspicious was found on any of the planes, police officials had said.

The bomb threat was received through a post on the micro-blogging platform X and the handle is being verified, an official said.

'On Monday, a bomb threat was posted on X for an Air India's Mumbai-New York flight and IndiGo's Mumbai to Muscat and Mumbai to Jeddah flights,' Rajnandgaon Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg said.

After receiving information about the tweet's connection with Rajnandgaon, Raipur Cyber Cell, and Rajnandgaon's Kotwali Police and Cyber Cell collected electronic data related to the case, he said.

'A team of Mumbai police reached Rajnandgaon on Monday. With the help of Rajnandgaon police, a notice was issued to a 17-year-old boy, who is a resident of the city, his father, and the person whose X account was used. They were summoned for questioning and further action to Mumbai,' the official said.

The Mumbai police have registered a case against an unidentified person and the X handle.

*****

IndiGo Mumbai-Delhi flight diverted to Ahmedabad after bomb threat

A Delhi-bound IndiGo aircraft from Mumbai was diverted to Ahmedabad after receiving a bomb threat, which later turned out to be a hoax, an official said on Wednesday.

Soon after the flight took-off from Mumbai on Tuesday night, an unidentified person, through a tweet, claimed a bomb had been placed in the aircraft which was carrying nearly 200 passengers and crew, the official from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport here said.

After being alerted by the Mumbai ATC, the pilots decided to make an emergency landing at Ahmedabad airport, which was the closest airport when the flight was en-route to Delhi, said the official.

"After landing here during midnight, the aircraft, carrying nearly 200 passengers and crew, was thoroughly checked by the security agencies overnight. However, nothing suspicious was found. The flight took-off for Delhi at around 8 am today morning after getting a green signal from the security personnel," the official said.

Several flights have received similar hoax bomb threats in the last couple of days.