Indore airport receives bomb threat ahead of festive season; security beefed up

While the email has also threatened to blow up other airports in the country, police said they are investigating to find out whether it is a real threat or a hoax.

Security at Indore’s Ahilyabai Holkar International Airport in Madhya Pradesh and nearby areas has been heightened following a bomb threat received on Saturday (October 5, 2024) evening, police said. They added an investigation has been launched into the matter.

Late on Saturday evening, the airport’s security in-charge received an email threatening to bomb the Indore airport and other airports in the country.

Indore Additional Commissioner of Police, Law and Order, Amit Singh told The Hindu that an FIR has been registered at the Aerodrum police station here and a probe launched.

“Our cyber experts are working to locate the mail’s IP address and see if it’s a real threat or a hoax. Such mails are mostly sent through a VPN, making it difficult to trace. But we will definitely find out who’s behind this,” Mr. Singh said. 

He said that while the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is taking care of the security of the premises, the local police are working with the Central force in conducting searches in the area. “They have strengthened security at the airport and are organising drills. Frequent searches and frisking with dog squads are also being done,” he said.

At least five such emails have been received at the Indore Airport in the past one year, and Mr. Singh said that most of them turned out to be hoax. “Many such mails have been received in past but they turned out to be fake. We had registered an FIR after the last email too and the investigation is going on into it,” he said.

With the start of the festive season, several establishments such as airports, railway stations and temples across the country have received similar threats.

On October 5, Vadodara and Rajkot airports in Gujarat also received similar threats via email, prompting security agencies to launch an investigation and tighten security arrangements.

On October 1, a letter was received at Hanumangarh railway station in Rajasthan, threatening to bomb several train stations in the State and in the neighbouring Madhya Pradesh and Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar Temple. The sender claimed to be from Jaish-e-Mohammad, a Pakistan-based terror outfit.

Published - October 06, 2024 07:30 pm IST