Rajiv Gandhi International (RGIA) Airport received a threat email on Saturday alleging the presence of a “human bomb” on an IndiGo flight from Jeddah to Hyderabad. As a precaution, the flight was diverted to Mumbai, where it landed safely, PTI reported citing officials.
The airport authorities lodged a complaint with police, saying they received the threat email at around 5.30 am which warned them to “prevent landing of IndiGo (flight) in Hyderabad”.
The email further stated “…onboard LTTE-ISI operatives have planned a major 1984 Madras Airport Modus operandi style blast”, police said.
All stakeholders were alerted and the flight was diverted to Mumbai airport where it safely landed, they said, adding “all (security) checks were carried out and no issue was found”.
Based on the complaint a case was registered. Further investigation is on, police added. In a statement, an IndiGo spokesperson said, “A security threat was received for IndiGo flight 6E 68 operating from Jeddah to Hyderabad on November 1, and the aircraft was diverted to Mumbai.”
According to IndiGO, following the established protocol, the airline informed the relevant authorities immediately and fully cooperated with them in carrying out the necessary security checks before the aircraft was cleared for further operations.
“We made all efforts to minimise inconvenience to our customers including offering them refreshments and sharing regular updates,” the airline spokesperson stated.
In a separate incident, earlier on Friday, Chennai City police said that an email claiming a bomb had been planted at the Enforcement Directorate office in Shastri Bhavan was a hoax.
After receiving the threat, a Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) team, accompanied by a sniffer dog, was immediately dispatched to the ED’s southern regional office in Nungambakkam.
The premises were thoroughly searched, and the threat was confirmed to be false, a senior police official said, as reported by PTI.
