India Seeks To Bolster Law After Airline Bomb Hoax Threats
Date
10/21/2024 6:02:28 AM
(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
AFP
New Delhi: India's Aviation Minister said Monday he wanted to tighten laws after more than 90 fake bomb threats against Indian airlines in the past week triggered travel chaos and terror.
Ram Mohan Naidu said "safety and security" were the priority and that airport checks had been increased.
Some threats led to planes being diverted to Canada and Germany, and fighter jets scrambled to escort aircraft in the skies above Britain and Singapore.
Civil aviation authorities have had to check every flight that has been threatened -- many by messages posted on X.
He also said there were discussions for "legislative action" to overhaul aviation and aircraft security laws, and make those who make such threats guilty of a serious, or "cognisable", crime with longer potential sentences.
"We want to do it to be able to take strict action against them and to make it a cognisable offence," he said.
At least one person -- a minor -- has been arrested in India, but the threats have continued.
There were no reports of any threats made on Monday.
The minister refused to comment on whether the threats were coming from a single source, saying an investigation was still underway.
"It is a very sensitive situation," he said.
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