Pune Airport Receives Bomb Threat Email; Panic Ensues, Later Declared Hoax
Pune Airport Receives Bomb Threat Email; Panic Ensues, Later Declared Hoax
Pune, July 1 – Panic gripped Pune International Airport in the early hours of Sunday after an email bomb threat was received on the airport’s official email account. The message, sent at around 1:25 am on June 29, claimed that powerful explosives had been planted in backpacks across the airport premises and inside planes, warning of mass casualties if immediate evacuation was not carried out.
The email, written in English and signed by individuals identifying themselves as “Roadkill” and “Kyo,” claimed responsibility for what they described as a “terror attack,” officials said.
Following the threat, full emergency protocols were activated. “The CISF, Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS), Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), airline security teams, and aircraft maintenance staff conducted thorough searches across the terminal and on aircraft. No suspicious objects or persons were found,” said Santosh Dhoke, director of Pune Airport.
According to the FIR filed at the airport police station by Adnan Mazhar Shaikh, 24, a customer service executive with Star Air, the email was received during his duty hours. Shaikh, a resident of Kondhwa, immediately alerted assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Sudhakar at the CISF control room and also informed the airport director, terminal manager, Star Air’s local management, and other security agencies.
After the security sweep, the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) at Pune Airport declared the threat as “non-specific,” indicating there was no supporting evidence for the claims made in the email.
The airport police have registered a case under Sections 125 and 351(0) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the unidentified sender. “It appears to be a hoax. However, we have forwarded all details to the cybercrime department to trace the origin and sender of the email,” said senior police inspector Govind Jadhav of the airport police station.
Flight operations remained largely unaffected, though security remained on heightened alert through the morning.
