On June 18 at least two Tamil Nadu airports - Chennai and Coimbatore - got bomb threat emails (File).
Five major airports - Chennai and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, Patna in Bihar, Vadodara in Gujarat, and Jaipur in Rajasthan - were among 41 that received bomb warning e-mails - that were all found to be hoaxes - on Tuesday. These follow similar threats to schools, colleges, and hospitals in recent weeks, including letters to around 150 educational institutions in the national capital region last month.
"As many as 41 airports were put on alert and drills were conducted. But all were declared hoax," a senior officer told NDTV.
Fortunately, no incident has been reported, and the CISF, or Central Industrial Security Force, which handles airport security, has indicated it receives several such threats, most of which are not considered serious.
"In last couple of days such hoax emails and calls have been received by many airports. We do not take chances and that's why we follow proper drills," said a CISF official.
In the last seven days alone there have been bomb threats at a medical facility in Chandigarh, museums in Delhi, a hospital in Maharashtra's Thane, and a Dubai-bound flight from Delhi airport.
There was also a threat to an Air Canada flight from Delhi to Toronto.
In May there was a threat to a Vistara flight - carrying nearly 180 people - to Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar, and another targeting Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka's home.
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A Delhi-Varanasi IndiGo flight was also threatened, as was the iconic The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai and a number of schools in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow. And, perhaps most critically, in May the Union Home Ministry - Minister Amit Shah was not present- also received a bomb threat.
READ | Home Ministry Gets Bomb Threat, Nothing Found: Sources
Each case, fortunately, has been revealed as a hoax.
Less happily, individuals or (terror, potentially) groups) behind the threats have yet to be arrested, with a few exceptions. The Air Canada flight threat e-mail was made by a 13-year-old who did it "just for fun".
And the threatening emails sent to Lucknow schools were the handiwork of children who 'accidentally' forwarded the missives during an online chat session, officials told news agency IANS.
And today, within the space of a few hours, around 40 airports received threats.
Bomb Threat 1: Chennai
Early this morning Chennai's Kamaraj International Airport was sent an e-mail about a bomb on a Dubai-bound Emirates flight scheduled to leave at 10:30 am. Frantic security officials swung into action, scrutinising the plane and even laying out each piece of luggage out on the tarmac to check.
Fortunately, this was before over 250 passengers boarded. Nevertheless, Emirates flight EK543 is expected to suffer more than a 12-hour delay; it will now leave, bomb-free, past midnight.
Initial inquiries suggest the hoax e-mail came from Istanbul in Turkey. "Bomb threat e mails have become frequent... we did not want to take chances...," Airport Director CV Deepak told NDTV.
READ | Hoax Bomb Threat On Dubai-Bound Chennai Flight Delays It By 12 Hours
Initial inquiries suggest the hoax e-mail, Airport Director CV Deepak told NDTV, came from Istanbul in Turkey. "Bomb threat e mails have become frequent... we did not want to take chances..."
Bomb Threat 2: Jaipur
"Hello. There are explosives hidden in the airport. The bombs will explode soon. You will all die."
This is the text of the e-mail sent to Jaipur airport officials. Dramatic but effective, prompting a sweep that found nothing. This followed a threat to a private city college that also yielded no bombs.
Sources said a group called 'KNR' - linked to the Delhi school threats - had claimed responsibility.
Bomb Threat 3: Patna
A normal Tuesday at the airport broke after an e-mail at 1.10 pm warning of a bomb.
As with the other e-mails, it was found to be a hoax. "The email, received at 1.10 pm, contained a bomb threat. Security was bolstered in the wake of the development," a senior cop said.
"We are trying to trace the source of the email and the sender."
Bomb Threat 4: Coimbatore
About 20 minutes after panic in Patna, authorities at the Coimbatore airport also swung into action after getting an e-mail that said "bombs are planted at the airport, and they may explode anytime".
Flight movements were, fortunately, not affected.
Bomb Threat 5: Vadodara
And finally, Gujarat's Vadodara airport also had an unexpected security drill.
"Information was received... after which police teams were formed (and) bomb disposal and dog squads, ambulance, and fire tenders reached the airport," Police Inspector RD Chauhan said.
Every bomb threat e-mail or phone call will, of course, be taken seriously and planes will be grounded, schools and colleges closed, and public institutions shut while they are swept.
But the sheer numbers of these threats (hoaxes all, for now) is disturbing, particularly since several have been linked to international points of origin. The schools threatened in Delhi, for example, may have been sent from the Hungarian capital of Budapest, police officials told NDTV last month.
With input from agencies
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