Over 30 flights receive bomb threats on Saturday
New Delhi/ Mumbai (PTI): More than 30 flights of various Indian airlines, including Vistara, Air India and IndiGo, received bomb threats on Saturday, according to sources.
Flights of Air India, IndiGo, Akasa Air, Vistara, SpiceJet, Star Air and Alliance Air have received the threats, the sources said.
So far this week, at least 70 flights of Indian carriers have received bomb threats and most of them turned out to be hoaxes.
The sources said more than 30 flights, including domestic and international ones, operated by domestic airlines have received bomb threats through social media since Saturday morning. In at least one of the flights, a note was found in the lavatory saying there was a bomb in the flight.
On Saturday, Vistara said five of its flights on international routes received security threats through social media while IndiGo said at least four of its flights got security-related alerts.
The five flights of Vistara are UK106 (Singapore to Mumbai), UK027 (Mumbai to Frankfurt), UK107 (Mumbai to Singapore), UK121 (Delhi to Bangkok) and UK131 (Mumbai to Colombo).
"Following the protocol, all relevant authorities were promptly alerted and all security procedures are being adhered to, as per the guidance from the authorities and security agencies," an airline spokesperson said in a statement.
Besides, there was a security concern regarding Vistara flight UK624 from Udaipur to Mumbai, and after landing, the aircraft was taken to an isolation bay for mandatory checks.
A note was found in the lavatory of the aircraft saying there is a bomb in the flight, a source in the know said.
IndiGo issued statements for at least four flights with respect to the threats. They are 6E17 (Mumbai to Istanbul), 6E11 (Delhi to Istanbul), 6E184 (Jodhpur to Delhi) and 6E108 (Hyderabad to Chandigarh).
The airline said it is cognisant of a situation involving flights from Mumbai and Delhi to Istanbul.
Regarding the Jodhpur to Delhi flight, the carrier said the plane landed in the national capital and customers have disembarked the aircraft.
About Hyderabad to Chandigarh flight, IndiGo said that upon landing, the aircraft was isolated and all passengers were safely disembarked. Sources said that the plane was being checked at Chandigarh airport thoroughly by the airport authorities at the isolation bay.
On Friday, three international flights of Vistara received bomb threats which turned out to be hoaxes and one of the flights was diverted to Frankfurt as a precautionary measure.
In the past few days, more than 40 flights operated by the Indian carriers have received bomb threats which later turned out to be hoaxes.
The Civil Aviation Ministry plans to put in place strict norms to prevent incidents of hoax bomb threats to airlines, including placing the perpetrators in the no-fly list.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
