New Delhi: A 25-year-old jobless Delhi man has been arrested on the charge of issuing hoax bomb threats. This arrest is only the second following a string of such threats issued to airlines last week. In fact, according to the officials of Delhi Police, he made the threats to draw everybody’s attention after watching reports of similar calls on television. Hoax bomb threats were received by over 275 flights since October 14, and Mumbai Police took a 17-year-old into custody last week.
Delhi Police on Saturday said they received two threat messages at the capital’s Indira Gandhi International Airport—one between Friday night and early Saturday—from a social media account.
A case was registered, and investigations led the police to the account holder, Shubham Upadhyay, a resident of Rajapuri in west Delhi’s Uttam Nagar area. Upadhyay was arrested, and during interrogation, he revealed he made the threats to gain attention after seeing reports about such calls on television.
Police noted that 25-year-old Upadhyay is unemployed and has completed his schooling up to Class 12.
“We reassure the public that all necessary security measures are in place, and there is no cause for alarm. We encourage everybody to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the authorities,” said Delhi Police in a statement.
Mumbai Police had also arrested a 17-year-old school dropout from Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh on October 16 for threats to four flights on October 14. The teenager, after a dispute with a friend over money, allegedly created an X handle in his friend’s name to frame him. Of the four flights targeted, two were delayed— including Air India flight AI 119 from Mumbai to New York, which was diverted to New Delhi—and one had to be canceled.
Ministry’s Warning
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, in an advisory sent to social media platforms on Friday, stated that ‘fake bomb threats issued to airlines’ pose a threat to public order and urged them to act quickly to stop the spread of such misinformation. The ministry also warned of action against platforms that fail to follow due diligence obligations.