A bomb threat letter was discovered under a seat on a Jeddah-Ahmedabad international flight after it landed at Sardar Patel International Airport in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad on Monday morning, officials said.
Local police, the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS), and security agencies immediately searched the aircraft, but no suspicious items were found, according to Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Sharad Singhal.
Flight Searched, Investigation Underway
Authorities were alerted after the aircraft’s cleaning staff discovered the handwritten threat letter once all passengers had disembarked. “A flight carrying passengers from Jeddah landed at Ahmedabad airport in the morning. After all passengers alighted, the cleaning staff found a note with a threat to blow up the flight. Local police, along with security agencies, have started the investigation,” an official said.
Forensic experts have been called to examine the letter for fingerprints and handwriting analysis to determine whether any passenger was involved. “We will check the fingerprints and handwriting of each passenger. As of now, nothing suspicious has been found,” the official added.
A String of Hoax Bomb Threats Across India
This incident adds to a recent wave of bomb threats across India, many of which have turned out to be hoaxes.
- On February 7, bomb threat emails were sent to St Stephen’s College in Delhi and two schools in Delhi-NCR, leading to extensive security checks by police, bomb squads, and dog squads. Officials later declared the threats as hoaxes.
- On February 4, two private schools in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, received bomb threats via email, prompting evacuations. These also turned out to be hoaxes, but exams were disrupted.
Police have registered cases against unknown persons for these hoax threats. However, the repeated instances have raised concerns about security preparedness and the misuse of emergency response resources.
Authorities at Ahmedabad airport have assured that security has been heightened following the latest incident. Further investigations are ongoing to determine the source of the threat letter found on the Jeddah-Ahmedabad flight.
Sources By Agencies
