Mumbai Airport, CSMT receive bomb threat calls; police launch probe, say...

The Mumbai Police on Friday (July 25) received a call threatening a bomb blast at Terminal 2 of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), though a thorough inspection of the facility did not reveal anything suspicious, an official said, according to news agency PTI. The call, which was received at the main control room of Mumbai Police this afternoon, was classified as a hoax, he said. "Another call was also received claiming the blast would take place at 6:15 pm."

Calls made by same person
"A probe has found both calls were made by the same person. The process of registering a case is underway," the official said. The control room of the Railway Police too received a call threatening a blast at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, though this too turned out to be a hoax after a round of intensive checking by the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) and canine squad, another official said.

Hoax bomb threats on the rise
Major Indian cities have seen a significant surge in hoax bomb threats in recent days, mainly targeting airports and schools. In July, more than 80 schools across Delhi and surrounding cities like Gurugram reportedly received coordinated bomb threat emails, causing widespread panic. All of the threats turned out to be hoaxes. Besides, the Ministry of Civil Aviation recently said in a statement that 69 hoax bomb threats were received by airlines across India until July 20 this year.

(With inputs from news agency PTI).