Since 2016, Delhi airport received over 20 hoax calls

New Delhi: More than 20 times, since 2016, security officials at IGI airport has received hoax calls mostly related to bomb threats. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police, during their investigation, registered seven cases and arrested several persons.

An investigator told Millennium Post that the hoax calls affect operations at the airport. Elaborating more about the hoax callers, Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI) Sanjay Bhatia told Millennium Post," Arrests were made in such incidents. Interrogation of accused persons revealed various reasons behind making hoax calls."

Adding further, DCP Bhatia said that most of the callers were mentally disturbed.

The Delhi Police data accessed by Millennium Post revealed that in the year 2016, as many as 15 calls (IGI airport-11 and Domestic Airport-4) were received in the year 2016.

Whereas in 2017, four hoax calls were received in the airport. Last year, around three calls and in the current year till August 15, as many as five calls were received.

More than five cases were registered in over three years.

Elaborating more on calls filed, DCP IGI said that they received hoax calls in which caller did not provide proper details about the threat. "In one of the calls, the hoax caller only told us that 'there is a bomb in-plane'. But he did not give us further details like the name of the flight or for which country/state it was bound to go. In such case, we do not register any case," an officer said.

The Delhi Police data further added that nine calls were transferred to other states or other departments.

"Sometimes, if we receive hoax calls about any bomb threat at the airport of other state, we transfer the call to the security agencies of the concerned state," said an official.

According to an officer, in some threat related calls, they conducted detailed search operation at airport to ensure safety and security at the airport. Recently, the Special Cell of the Delhi Police has arrested a man, who made a hoax call on August 8, saying his wife was on her way to set off a bomb at the Delhi airport.

Last year, a 23-year-old employee of an airline was arrested by IGI police for making the hoax call. Police claimed that he wanted to teach a lesson to the airlines as he had been given verbal notice to improve his performance in three months or face the departmental action.