India’s security authorities claim that they have managed to trace the source of false airline bomb threats that have swept India in recent months to the United Kingdom and Germany. Indian agencies have requested that X (formerly Twitter) provide the IP addresses associated with the accounts responsible for these posts and have urged the platform to remove them, according to an unnamed source cited by Indian news sources.
This week, dozens of 20 domestic and international flights in India were subjected to bomb threats. Three threats were reported on Monday, ten on Tuesday, and at least six more on Wednesday, leading to heightened security protocols.
On Thursday alone, at least 14 flights received similar threats. Investigations have determined that these threats, which were communicated via social media, are likely to be false.
India’s Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu stated that preliminary investigations have not indicated any conspiracy, noting that the majority of the calls appear to have originated from minors and pranksters.
Naidu also mentioned that New Delhi is contemplating the introduction of new legislation to address such hoaxes.
According to anonymous sources, investigators have been working to identify a “pattern” in the series of threats directed at multiple airlines.
An unnamed Indian security official revealed that there is a discernible pattern in the messages. A threat is issued via social media or a phone call, and shortly thereafter, similar threats emerge in quick succession.
The official further asserted that the attackers aim to “undoubtedly disrupt the aviation sector, instill fear, and maintain pressure on the agencies.”
Law enforcement officials in India’s financial hub of Mumbai, have apprehended a minor in connection with alleged online bomb threats concerning three flights. The 17-year-old is reported to have established an account on X, using the name of a friend with whom he had a disagreement, from which the threats were disseminated, according to local media.
In June, several minors were taken into custody for separate incidents involving bomb threats directed at airports. In one instance, a ninth-grade student was said to have been “influenced” by social media reports about children sending similar false emails.
Throughout the year, over 40 airports across India have received bomb threats, prompting extensive anti-sabotage inspections that lasted for several hours; however, all threats were ultimately determined to be false. The reasons behind the recent increase in bomb threats remain unclear.
However, the spike in recent threats emerged amid a significant diplomatic dispute between India and Canada, following Ottawa’s claims that agents from New Delhi were involved in the assassination of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Historically, Khalistan separatists were implicated in the bombing of Air India Flight 182, which resulted in the deaths of more than 329 individuals in 1985. One of the Air India flights that reported a “security threat” earlier this week was forced to make an emergency landing in Canada, having originally been en route to Chicago in the United States.
