Hoax bomb threat delays Delhi-Mumbai flight by 2 hours at IGI Airport
New Delhi, Jun 8: A Mumbai-bound Vistara airlines flight from Delhi was delayed for about two hours after a passenger said she overheard a fellow traveller speaking about a bomb in his bag, a claim that was later declared a hoax, official sources said Thursday.
A designated committee of multiple security, intelligence, airport operations and aviation agencies was convened at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport around 6.10 pm on Wednesday to ascertain this claim reported for flight no UK-941 (Delhi to Mumbai), which was scheduled to depart at 4.55 pm, they said.
The passenger reported to the airline crew that she overheard a male passenger saying to someone on phone that the "CISF could not detect the bomb that was in my bag", the sources said.
The CISF is the designated aviation security force that undertakes checking of air passengers and their cabin baggage as part of providing a counter-terrorist threat to 66 civil airports in the country.
The crew, sources said, immediately informed the ground security and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel following which the flight's take off was delayed and an anti-sabotage sweep was carried out in the terminal area and the check-in baggage even as the overall security apparatus was put on an "alert" mode.
The threat was declared "non-specific" or hoax around 6.45 pm and the flight with 163 passengers was allowed to depart for Mumbai, they said.
The passenger who was accused of the 'bomb chat' and the complainant were handed over to the Delhi Police, and the male passenger was later booked under sections 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and 268 (public nuisance) of the Indian Penal Code, the sources said.
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Road crash in UP leaves 10 dead
Lakhimpur Kheri (UP) (PTI): Ten people were killed when a van collided head-on with a truck on the Sisaiya-Lakhimpur national highway on Monday, police said.
The van was going to Sisaiya from Lakhimpur when the accident took place between Unchgaon and Bharehta villages.
Circle Officer of Dhaurahra, Shamsher Bahadur Singh, said all nine passengers travelling in the van and the driver were killed.
District Magistrate of Lakhimpur Kheri Anjani Kumar Singh told reporters that the van collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction, leading to nine casualties on the spot, while one succumbed to injuries at the district hospital.
Circle Officer, Dhaurahra, Shamsher Bahadur Singh told PTI, "Efforts are on to establish the identity of other deceased persons."
The seven of the deceased have been identified as Jaideep Singh (25), Pawan (23), Sohan (21), Ram Goyal (42), Sahajram (35), Pappu (18), all residents of Bahraich district and Adnan Khan (15), a resident of Lakhimpur Kheri district, police said.
Condoling the loss of lives in the accident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a post on X, said, "The loss of life in the unfortunate road accident in Lakhimpur Kheri district is deeply distressing and heart-wrenching. My condolences are with the bereaved families."
"I have directed the local administration to provide prompt and adequate assistance to the injured and the victims. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to grant the departed souls a place at His divine feet and to bestow a speedy recovery upon the injured," Adityanath said on X.
Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak too condoled the loss of lives in the accident.
"The loss of lives resulting from the road accident in Lakhimpur Kheri district is deeply tragic and heart-wrenching. My deepest condolences go out to the bereaved families," Maurya said.
