IndiGo bomb threat: Canadian national spooks travellers onboard Varanasi-Bengaluru flight, police detain foreigner

IndiGo bomb threat: A Canadian national onboard a Varanasi to Bengaluru flight operated by India's low-cost carrier (LCC), IndiGo, claimed that he was carrying a bomb with him on the aircraft, reported the news agency PTI, citing police officials aware of the development on Sunday, April 27. 

According to the police officials, the incident occurred on Saturday night, resulting in the detention of the foreigner after the panic broke out at Varanasi airport.

Security officials are questioning the man, the officials told the news agency.

Puneet Gupta, the director of Varanasi airport, said that the aircraft was moved to an isolation bay for a thorough inspection after the bomb threat. However, no explosive materials were found after the investigation into the aircraft, according to the news report.

The IndiGo crew onboard the aircraft carried out a prompt response after identifying the threat. They informed the Air Traffic Control (ATC) after passengers confirmed the claims of the bomb carrier, according to the agency report citing Gupta. 

The aircraft was grounded and inspected as per the standard aviation protocols, and after receiving clearance from the authorities, the IndiGo-operated aircraft departed for Bengaluru on Sunday, April 27.

Akash Patel, the DCP of the Gomti zone, Varanasi, said that the passenger, Nishant, a citizen of Canada, was handed over to the police. After the interrogation, it was found that he had given false information to delay the airport operations.

“FIR is being registered against him under the appropriate sections, Canada High Commission will also be informed,” said Patel, in a video shared by ANI. 

Airport Bomb Threat

On Sunday, the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in Kerala also received a bomb threat, which prompted the authorities to conduct a search operation across the terminals to identify the potential bomb, according to an ANI report.

As per the report, further investigation into the issue is underway. The threat was received through an email earlier on Sunday.

Apart from the International airport, multiple hotels in Kerala's capital, Thiruvananthapuram, also received bomb threats through email, which prompted bomb disposal units and dog squads to deploy in search of the alleged bombs. 

As per the report, the inspections which were carried out resulted in finding no explosives at the claimed places. A Cantonment police station said that the threats were a hoax, according to the agency report.

The original claim was that IED explosions would take place at various hotels in the region, and reportedly, the Hilton Hotel was one of the properties on the list of names.

Earlier in Janaury 2025, Telangana's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) had also received a bomb threat call, which made the airport authorities conduct searches with the bomb squad.

“A person named Nitin had made 100 calls to the airport and claimed that there was a bomb at the airport. He is a narrative of Rajampeta police station limits of Kamareddy and his parents say that he is mentally disturbed,” RGIA police station inspector said as per the report.