Airline bomb hoax: Agencies on alert; Mumbai police detains juvenile
bomb threats, the Centre asserted that agencies are actively pursuing the cases even as the Mumbai Police apprehended a juvenile from Chhattisgarh for three such hoax calls. Meanwhile, to ensure the safety of passengers, the government is likely to increase the number of sky marshals on international flights.
The government on Wednesday informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport that it is considering deploying a greater number of the elite National Security Guards (NSG) personnel on international flights. Civil aviation secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam also told the committee that investigators have gathered some information on the recent threats and are taking action. Separately, civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said he is monitoring the situation closely.
A senior official of the Central Industrial Security Forces, the paramilitary force that handles airport security, said state police have been asked to arrest and take strong action against people making such threats. At least 19 Indian flights received hoax bomb threats in the past three days, leading to long delays and diversions. On Tuesday, Singapore's air force sent two fighter jets to escort an Air India Express plane away from populated areas after the airline received an email that there was a bomb on the aircraft.
An Air India aircraft flying from Delhi to Chicago had to divert to Iqaluit airport in Canada on the same day following a security threat posted online. Airlines have sought intervention from the government so that social
