Man claims bomb on plane at Kolkata Airport, detained

Security agencies at Kolkata Airport detained a person from the boarding area after he falsely claimed there was a bomb on the plane. The plane is currently being searched, according to sources cited by ANI.

Earlier on Monday, seven flights of India-based carriers at Kolkata Airport received bomb threats via social media. However, these turned out to be hoaxes, according to PTI.

"It was learnt around 2:45 pm that messages were posted on X handle 'I wanna slit your throat' that bombs were planted inside seven flights related to the Kolkata airport," the report said quoting Director of NSCBI airport, Dr Pravat Ranjan Beuria.

Of the seven hoax threats, five targeted Indigo flights and two were aimed at Vistara. The social media posts claimed bombs were placed on these flights.

Following the hoax threats, all officials were alerted, and the staff was informed. The Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) met and concluded that the threats were "non-specific," according to Chairman Beuria.

The BTAC has issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to prevent such incidents in the future. The committee also emphasized the importance of following all guidelines to avoid panic in case of bomb threats.

Over 410 domestic and international flights operated by Indian airlines have received hoax bomb threats in the past 15 days.

In response, the IT Ministry has instructed social media platforms to remove or block access to misinformation within specific timeframes as per IT rules. The Ministry of Civil Aviation is also planning to take action against those responsible for these hoax bomb threats.