Centre Says “Will Put Culprits On No-Fly List” On Hoax Bomb Calls (image-pixabay)

After receiving bomb threats to nearly 100 Indian airlines in the last seven days, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has said that the government’s plan to amend laws to address the ongoing issue. This includes placing the culprits responsible for such threats on a no-fly list.

Naidu, while addressing the press conference on Monday, said that even though the threats have turned out to be hoaxes, there is a strict protocol that is followed by his department and airlines.

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Naidu said that the government is considering amendments to aviation security rules and the Suppression of Unlawful Against Safety of Civil Aviation Act, 1982, to strengthen the measures.

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) is working closely with the Ministry of Home Affairs on the matter.

“From the Ministry, we have thought of some legislative action if it is required. We have come to the conclusion that there are two areas that we can explore – 1) Amendment in Aircraft Security Rules…one of the ideas that we want to propagate by changing these rules is that once we catch hold of the perpetrator who is behind this, we want to put them in the no-flying list… 2) Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Civil Aviation Act…,” Naidu said.

A key high-level meeting was held in the Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday. Officials have said that Home Secretary Govind Mohan has given details of the investigation so far by the BCAS Director General Zulfiquar Hasan and CISF Director General Rajwinder Singh Bhatti.

During the meeting, both the director generals had briefed the home secretary on the recent spate of hoax bomb threats, which caused widespread panic and led to extensive security checks by Indian aviation authorities.

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On Sunday, over 20 flights received bomb threats. The Mumbai Police has also taken a 17-year-old boy into custody for issuing threats to four flights, including three on international routes.