17-year-old held over bomb threats to 19 flights in 3 days

A minor has been taken into custody by the Mumbai police in connection with a series of bomb threats made against various airlines since Monday, resulting in several flight diversions, including one to a remote airport in Canada. The 17-year-old boy, a school dropout from Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, allegedly issued the threats to frame a friend over a financial dispute.

On Tuesday, October 15 the boy and his father were summoned by the Mumbai police. While the teenager has been detained and is being transferred to a remand home, his father remains under questioning.

According to police, the boy reportedly created a handle on X in his friend’s name and posted the bomb threats from it.

In total, at least 19 flights have received bomb threats starting from Monday, leading to three first information reports (FIRs) being filed. The teenager is currently in custody for the first FIR related to Monday’s threats.

On Wednesday, bomb threats were reported for four IndiGo flights, two SpiceJet flights, and one Akasa Air flight. Earlier, on Tuesday night, a Vistara flight and an Air India Express flight also received similar threats.

IndiGo’s three affected flights included the Riyadh-Mumbai flight 6E 74, which was diverted to Muscat, Oman. Another flight, 6E 1011 from Mumbai to Singapore, received a security alert and successfully landed in Singapore. Additionally, flight 6E 515 from Chennai to Lucknow received a security-related alert; upon landing in Lucknow, it was moved to an isolated bay where all passengers disembarked safely.

On Tuesday night, a Mumbai-bound IndiGo flight from Delhi was diverted to Ahmedabad due to a bomb threat.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday afternoon, Akasa Air flight QP 1335, en route from Delhi to Bengaluru with 174 passengers, three infants, and seven crew members, returned to Delhi following a bomb threat.

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The Vistara flight UK 161 from Delhi to Hong Kong received a social media security threat on October 15, landing safely in Hong Kong early Wednesday after mandatory security checks were conducted.

On Tuesday, an Air India Express flight IX 437 from Kochi to Dubai also encountered a bomb threat but landed safely in Dubai. In total, at least seven flights were affected on Tuesday, including Air India flight AI 127 from Delhi to Chicago, which was diverted to Iqaluit, Canada, and IndiGo flight 6E 98, travelling from Damman, Saudi Arabia, to Lucknow, which made an emergency landing in Jaipur. Additional threats were reported for Air India Express, Akasa Air, and Alliance Air.

The hoax calls continued on Wednesday, prompting the return of Akasa Air flight QP 1335 from New Delhi to Bengaluru and the diversion of IndiGo flight 6E 651 from Mumbai to Ahmedabad.

(With inputs of agency)

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