A 13-year-old boy was apprehended from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh for sending a hoax e-mail bomb threat on Delhi-Toronto flight “for fun” only because he saw news reports of bomb threats recently, police said on June 11.
On June 4, a PCR call was received at IGI police station at 11.25 p.m. regarding a bomb threat e-mail received on flight no. AC043 is scheduled from Delhi to Toronto. Police registered a case accordingly on the complaint received from Air Canada Airlines.
Based on the information received and considering the gravity and sensitivity of the call, the Delhi Airport was put on high alert and a full emergency was declared at the Delhi airport. The guidelines and protocol laid in the SOP were properly followed to ensure the safety and security of the passengers. After a thorough search of the alleged flight, the threat email was found to be a hoax.
Fake e-mail ID
During the investigation, verifying the sender’s e-mail ID revealed that the said e-mail ID was created afresh, just one to two hours before the said hoax threat e-mail, and after sending the e-mail it was deleted.
Despite initial challenges, relentless investigation and technical efforts led the team to Meerut, U.P., where the source of the email was traced. Police then found a 13-year-old boy who was involved in sending a hoax bomb threat e-mail. He was apprehended in the case. DCP (IGI) Usha Rangnani said that on examination, he revealed that he got the idea of sending a hoax bomb threat call in a flight from a news flashed in the media, about a hoax bomb call in a flight at Mumbai Airport.
“When he saw the news, he thought if he made the hoax call secretly, he could be traced by the police or not. He further revealed that he created a new fake e-mail ID on his mobile phone and used his mother’s mobile Wi-Fi to send the hoax threat e-mail. After sending the e-mail, he immediately deleted the e-mail ID. He also revealed that the next day, he had seen hoax bomb news at Delhi Airport in the media and he felt very excited. He did not share any information with his parents because of fear,” DCP said.
Two mobile phones found linked to hoax threat e-mail transmission were taken into police possession. After apprehension, the boy was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and his custody was handed over to his parents as per the board’s order, DCP said.