Starting in late April 2024, numerous bomb threat hoax emails and calls were received by many establishments including schools, colleges, hotels and airports across India, most of which were targeted at organisations in Delhi.
Following a preliminary probe by the Delhi Police Special Cell's Counter-Intelligence Unit (CIU), the email 'sawariim@mail.ru' was traced to a Russian IP address.
Meanwhile, hospitals in Delhi, including the Indira Gandhi International Airport, and the Northern railways' office, received alarming emails from a Cyprus-based mailing service company 'beeble.com' on 12 May.
[19][20] A Varanasi-bound IndiGo flight faced a similar threat at the Delhi Airport on 28 May, prompting authorities to evacuate all passengers and staff on board.
According to police, information was received regarding a paper found in the lavatory of the flight scheduled to depart for Varanasi, with the phrase “bomb @5.30” written on it.
[23] Subsequently, on 31 May, a Srinagar-bound Vistara flight received a bomb threat call while en route from Delhi with 177 passengers and one infant on board; however, the aircraft safely landed at Srinagar Airport.
[26] On 6 September 2024, a Vistara flight travelling from Mumbai to Frankfurt made an emergency landing at Erzurum, Turkey after a piece of paper with "bomb on board" written on it was found in a lavatory on the aircraft.
[29] Indian authorities arrested a 17-year-old school dropout for creating a social media account to issue such threats, he was believed to have targeted four flights.
Initial investigations had raised suspicions of a "deeper conspiracy" potentially orchestrated by an ISIS module, aimed at disrupting the ongoing general election.
[38] The lieutenant-governor of Delhi Vinai Kumar Saxena requested a comprehensive report from the state police and ordered them to conduct searches and apprehend the culprits without any oversight.
[12] On 29 May, Hyderabad City Police arrested a man who allegedly made a call about a bomb being planted in Praja Bhavan and Nampally Court.