(MENAFN- Live Mint) A 17-year-old boy was held on Wednesday in connection with the bomb threats issued to airlines in the past three days. The minor allegedly sent bomb threats to four flights using a fake social media account. He reportedly had planned to take revenge on his friend over money dispute.
Sources told News 18 that the minor had some dispute with his friend over money. The minor allegedly made an account on X in his friend's name to send threats on October 14, sources said. He was apprehended on Wednesday, the report added.
Also Read | Now, SpiceJet gets bomb scare, Delhi Police launches probe into hoax threats
The minor was arrested from Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon and agencies are verifying if there is a larger conspiracy behind these threats.
Three international flights originating from Mumbai received bomb threats on Monday. While a New York-bound Air India fligh 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.
Also Read | Air India Express, SpiceJet, Akasa and 4 other flights get bomb threats via X
“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 was quoted by news agency PTI as saying.
Earlier, Mumbai police had issued a notice to the 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.
"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.
Also Read | Bomb alert Air India flight: Mumbai to New York flight receives bomb threat
“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.
In the past two days, nearly a dozen Indian flights, including some heading for foreign destinations, have received bomb threats, and nothing suspicious was found in the planes.
(With inputs from PTI)
MENAFN16102024007365015876ID1108786209
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.