: A 25-year-old West Delhi resident was arrested for issuing a hoax bomb threat to the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport via a social media account, in an attempt to draw attention to himself. According to police, they received two bomb threat messages from a social media account.

Following standard security protocols, an investigation was launched, which ultimately revealed the threat to be a hoax. A case was registered at the IGI police station, and authorities traced the suspect through his account.

As many as 33 flights received bomb threats including two at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Saturday. More than 300 domestic and international flights have received bomb threats via social media in the past 13 days. The accused was arrested from the Rajapuri area located in Delhi’s Uttam Nagar and confessed to the act saying that he did it after seeing similar incidents on television, hoping to gain attention Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI Airport), Usha Rangnani identified the accused as Shubham Upadhyay (25), who is an unemployed person and is only 12th pass.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Rangnani said, “During the intervening night of October 25th and 26th, two suspicious and potential bomb threat messages were received at IGI Airport via a social media account. Immediate action was taken, and standard security protocols were followed. A case was promptly registered under various sections of BNS, and an investigation was initiated. During the investigation, the threat was found to be a hoax,” the DCP stated.

According to aviation sector sources, 11 flights each of IndiGo, Air India and Vistara received the threats on Saturday. In a statement, an Air India spokesperson said a number of its flights were subject to security threats received on social media on Saturday. “Following the laid down protocols, relevant authorities were immediately alerted, and all security procedures strictly adhered to, as per guidance from the regulatory authorities,” the spokesperson said.