Flight Bomb Threats: Man Behind E-Mails Operates From Delhi; New Rules Focus On Social Media, Geopolitics

As India's civil aviation sector continues to deal with a spate of hoax bomb threats for over two weeks now, police in Maharashtra's Nagpur, who claimed to have identified the person behind the threats, on Wednesday said that the suspect sent the threat emails from Delhi.

Over 510 domestic and international flights have received bomb threats issued through social media that later turned out to be hoaxes.

According to the officials privy to the findings of the probe, 35-year-old Jagdish Shriram Uikey, an author of a book on terrorism hailing from Arjuni Morgaon in Gondia district of Maharashtra, has been identified as the man behind the threats. For the past few years, he has been living in the national capital.

According to the officials, Uikey sent emails to various government bodies, including the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Railway Minister, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy, airline offices, the Director General of Police (DGP) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF).

"Uikey has been living in Delhi since the past few years, from where he sent threat emails across the country. He has been identified as the culprit based on the emails he sent. The internet protocol (IP) address of the email sent to a central minister, as shared by Google, indicated that it was sent by Uikey. The probe found that the SIM card of his mobile phone was registered in his name and mentioned his Arjuni Morgaon address," the official said.

Further investigation revealed that the email sent to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on October 21, which was also forwarded to the Director General of Police (DGP) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF).

Taking cognisance of the development, authorities formed a special team to apprehend Uikey and are confident he will be captured soon. Security measures have been intensified, especially outside the residence of Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis, following Uikey's latest threats.

Hoax bomb threats: Flights ops affected

From Air India, SpiceJet and IndiGo to Akasa Air and Air Vistara, hundreds of flights operated by several Indian carriers received hoax bomb threats predominantly communicated via social media leading to large scale disruption in regular operations across airports.

From placing offenders on a no-fly list, to combating the hoax security threats- the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has decided to implement stringent measures.

Commenting on the developments, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said, "Action is being taken on this. We can't comment on any kind of a conspiracy but from whatever little bit we know these calls are coming from some minors and pranksters. These are all minor and isolated incidents. There is no kind of conspiracy that we can comment on. From our side, we are going to see what best we can do. We are talking to the airlines, security agencies, within the ministry also. Consultations are going on."

Hoax bomb threats: Fresh set of rules

In view of the recent spate of hoax bomb threats, the Bureau of Civil Aviation (BCAS) issued a fresh set of guidelines for civil aviation security and intelligence agencies.

Besides following the standard safety protocols, the new set of guidelines according to PTI took into account any pseudonymous or anonymous nature of the social media handle, and analysis of the geopolitical situation and presence of VIPs onboard.

In a bid to combat the recent security threats, a Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) has been convened to analyse a bomb or security threat issued against an airline, airport or any part of the aviation ecosystem. The committee is responsible for assessing the threat before declaring it "specific" or serious or "non-specific" or hoax.

Furthermore, the committee has also been directed to establish the identity of the person or organisation making the threat, check their credentials to see if they belong to a terrorist or proscribed outfit, ascertain the motive and specific socio-economic, and political situation within the country or around the globe that could be linked to the threat.

According to PTI, the committee comprises officials from the BCAS, CISF, local police, airport operator and airline officials and representatives of some other agencies.