Hoax Social Media Bomb Threat At Delhi Airport Leads To Counter-Terror Security Drills

A counter-terrorist security drill was initiated at Delhi's IGI Airport early this morning after agencies were informed about a social media chat threatening to "bomb and eliminate" the country's largest civil aviation facility, official sources said.

The threat was categorised as "non specific" or hoax around 6:30 am even as normal passenger traffic continued at the facility, they told Press Trust of India.

Airport security officials, sources told Press Trust of India, were informed about a social media post, in reply to an another message, that the Indira Gandhi International Airport should be bombed.

The chat posts, whose creators are being traced by police authorities, also talked about "eliminating" the airport, the sources said.

The bomb threat assessment committee (BTAC) procedure was triggered into action at the IGI at around 5:15 am.

The threat was declared a "hoax" and "not serious" after anti-sabotage checks of the three IGI terminals were carried out by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Delhi Police and other airport authorities, they said.

The IGI airport in the national capital is a designated "hypersensitive" from the security point of view.

Scores of passengers transit through its terminals everyday for domestic and international departures and arrivals.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)