Kolkata, 08 October (H.S.): A week after the mid-air Flydubai incident, a bomb threat email triggered widespread panic at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata on Thursday afternoon. The message claimed an explosive device had been planted within the terminal premises and could detonate at any moment. Airport authorities immediately sounded a high security alert, prompting the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and airport security teams to initiate an intensive combing operation. As a precautionary measure, passengers were escorted to designated safe zones and terminal areas were systematically evacuated.

Bomb disposal squads alongside CISF personnel, backed by sniffer dog units, conducted an exhaustive search of the departure and arrival terminals, passenger lounges, and adjoining operational bays. However, no suspicious object or explosive substance was detected during the hours-long sanitisation drive.

Preliminary assessments by security agencies indicate the threat may have been a hoax designed to create disruption and panic. Cyber crime specialists are currently tracking the originating IP address and digital trail of the email to identify the sender.

The scare comes amid heightened global aviation security concerns following the recent cockpit security scare aboard an Israel-bound Flydubai aircraft. Adding to the prevailing alert, Israeli Ambassador to India Reuven Azar had recently warned of an emerging wave of radical terror threats, cautioning that extremist elements are seeking to outpace administrative and security countermeasures. With heightened security protocols already in place across major Indian airports, including Dum Dum, Thursday's threat prompted security forces to maintain intensified surveillance and vigilance across the facility.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh