Agra: An email message seemingly sent from a VPN in the USA threatening to blow up the Kheria Airport of Agra has triggered alarm among authorities here on Monday.
"An email was received by the manager of Indigo Airlines at the Agra Airport at about 11:56 am on Monday that a bomb has been placed in the bathroom of the airport premises," assistant commissioner of police (Lohamandi) Mayank Tiwari said. He also said that the premises were searched but nothing suspicious was found.
"We have lodged a police complaint at the Shahganj police station against an unknown person and suitable legal action will be taken accordingly," he added. Earlier, police had said the email was received by the CISF (which provides security at the airport).
Later, Agra Airport Director Yogendra Singh Tomar said, "After nearly two hours of intense search on the airport premises, nothing suspicious was found." An email was also received at the Agra Airport regarding a bomb threat on October 4, 2024. An FIR was lodged at the Shahganj police station after the incident.
The sender of the email had described himself as a supporter of Palestine's independence. Along with this, a threat was given that a black bag containing a bomb had been kept at the toilet of Agra's Kheria Airport. Indigo Airlines official Dhadevraj Pandey informed the Airport Authority and CISF arranged stringent security measures soon after receiving the email. The CISF personnel swung into action and immediately evacuated the area around the toilet. On the information of the airport authority, Shahganj police team also reached the spot.
CISF personnel searched the entire premises with the help of dog squad. Nothing suspicious was found. After this, Shahganj police registered a case and started investigation. DCP City Suraj Kumar Rai said investigation revealed that the threat email was sent from the USA. “Right now, the teams of IT experts are trying to crack the IP address of the person who sent the email. It was sent via VPN,” Rai said.
Cybercrime experts and police said they suspect the sender is an Indian with good knowledge of IT. The accused is using VPN to send emails. According to officials, there is a possibility that the email was sent from any of states such as West Bengal, Kerala and the states of the Northeast.
Similar threat email was sent to Kheria airport authorities two months ago. Investigations revealed that the sender's IP address was traced in Hong Kong. Now, Agra police are trying to find out the link between the two emails. On December 3, Uttar Pradesh Tourism received a threat email to blow up the Taj Mahal in Agra.
