'Wanted attention': Unemployed Delhi man held for threats to flights

A 25-year-old man was arrested for allegedly posting threat messages to a flight at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here, police said on Saturday.

Shubham Upadhyay, a resident of Uttam Nagar in the national capital, was arrested for posting two bomb threat messages to draw attention after seeing similar news reports on TV, the police said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI) Usha Rangnani said during the intervening night of October 26 and 29, two suspicious and potential bomb threat messages were received at IGI Airport through an email account.

“Immediate action was taken and standard security protocols were followed but the threat was found to be hoax,” she said.

A case under section 3(1)(d) of the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation (SUA SCA) Act, 1982 and 351(4) the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered and an investigation was initiated.

During investigation, the origin of the messages was traced to an account registered to Upadhyay.

Based on manual intelligence and technical surveillance, Upadhyay was apprehended and interrogated. He is a Class 12 pass unemployed man.

Rangnani said Upadhyay has admitted to sending the messages after seeing similar news reports on television. He sent the messages to draw attention, she added.

The matter is currently under further investigation, she said.

In a statement Rangnani said, “We reassure the public that all necessary security measures are in place and there is no cause for alarm. We encourage everyone to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the authorities.”

The Delhi Police has registered eight separate FIRs in connection with bomb threats to more than 100 domestic and international flights over the past 10 days.

The first case was registered on October 16 following a bomb threat received via X targeting a Bengaluru-bound Akasa Air flight. The aircraft, carrying over 180 passengers, was forced to return to the national capital.

The police wrote to social media platform X the next day seeking details of the accounts that posted threatening messages but the force was not able to get the details of the user's ID or domain.

Amid a spate of hoax bomb threats to multiple airlines, the Information and Technology Ministry has asked social media platforms to observe due diligence obligations and promptly remove or disable access to misinformation within the strict timelines prescribed under the IT rules.