LUCKNOW: An X handle unleashed a barrage of 22 bomb threats within a span of five hours, targeting flights bound for various destinations, including Lucknow and Ayodhya, to sow panic among air travellers.
The handle, @schizobomber777, whose bio proclaimed him as a ‘real terrorist,’ issued menacing threats for flights such as 9I650 (Amritsar to Dehradun), IX 884 (Madurai-Singapore), IGO98 (Dammam-Lucknow), IX765 (Jaipur-Ayodhya-Bengaluru), SEJ116 (Darbhanga-Mumbai), AI 127 (Iqaluit-Chicago), and QP1373 (Bagdogra-Bengaluru).The relentless onslaught of threat posts commenced at 12.38pm on Tuesday and persisted until 4 pm.
In response to the alarming threat targeting IX 765, a bomb disposal squad, accompanied by sniffer dogs from CISF and Ayodhya police, meticulously scoured the Air India flight, which had arrived in Ayodhya from Jaipur with 139 passengers on board. As a precautionary measure, the aircraft was directed to an isolated location on the airport tarmac to facilitate the safe disembarkation of passengers and initiate a comprehensive combing operation at 2 pm.
Vinod Kumar, the airport director of Ayodhya, affirmed, “The passengers were evacuated from the aircraft, following which the bomb disposal unit thoroughly examined the aircraft and the passengers’ luggage.”
Meanwhile, the UP Police Cyber Cell has launched an investigation to uncover the source of the hoax and has reached out to the platform X to assist in tracing the origin and identifying the individual responsible for operating the account.
This incident follows on the heels of another bomb threat that occurred on Monday, when Air India flight AI 119 from Mumbai to New York was diverted mid-air to Delhi due to a security concern.