Delhi: Bomb threat at IGI airport turns out to be hoax, but security heightened

Security agencies went into a tizzy ahead of Independence Day, after a bomb threat was received at the IGI Airport on Saturday evening.

Security agencies declared it was a “non-specific” threat, but arrangements remained heightened on Sunday.

According to the police, they received a bomb threat on Saturday in an e-mail. “The subject of the e-mail was reportedly a planned bomb blast by Al Qaeda Sargana. The e-mail stated that Karanbir Suri, alias Mohamad Jalal, and his wife Shaily Sharda, alias Haseena, are coming to India on Sunday from Singapore and that they ‘plan to place the bomb in IGI Airport in 1-3 days’,” a senior police officer said.

Senior officials of the Delhi Police were informed. They in turn alerted the Airport Operations Control Centre about a potential terrorist attack led by the Al Qaeda outfit.

Airport authorities with the help of security agencies later investigated the threat and found it “non-specific”.

“After enquiry, it was found that a similar threat message was received in the recent past with same names and similar details, which was declared non-specific by the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC). But, as per standard of protocol, the security operations control centre informed all concerned security agencies and alerted security personnel. Anti-sabotage check has been carried at all terminals of IGI Airport, access control, vehicle checking at entry points and patrolling has been intensified,” the officer said.