Hoax call sparks security alert at IGI Airport

An anonymous phone call received at Air India call centre in Gurgoan on Tuesday claiming that a bomb would go off in one of its flight sparked a security alert at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in New Delhi, reported news agency PTI.

However, the threat turned out to be a hoax. The call centre of the national carrier received the call at around 7 pm in which the caller said a bomb would be set off. A senior CISF official said the call was “not specific” as to whether somebody was targeting a plane or the airport. “The caller did not say where the bomb will be exploded,” the official said.

A spokesman of Delhi International Airport Ltd later said a three-member threat assessment committee held a meeting following the phone call and concluded that since the threat was not specific, the call hoax. The CISF official said the standard security operation procedure was adopted after getting the phone call. “We have strengthened the security. We have sanitised the airport,” the official said. Airport officials said flight operations were normal. The CISF is responsible for airport security across the country.

As a mandatory security drill, all passengers of the departing flights were double-checked. “The call was made from a Gurgaon landline and we have passed on the information to our Gurgaon counterpart,” RA Sanjeev, DCP (airport), said.

But the Gurgaon police commissioner said he was not aware of any such call. “We haven’t got any information from Delhi Police so far. But if the call has been made from Gurgaon, we will trace the caller,” police commissioner SS Deswal said.

A bomb threat assessment committee has been formed to assess the nature of the call. Primary investigations made by the committee have led the call to be declared ‘non-specific,’ which means the bomb threat was a hoax.

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