Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) was placed on high alert on Sunday evening in response to a threatening email received by the RGIA Airport Operations Control Centre (AOCC).
The email, received at 7.37 p.m. Sunday, claimed that a person named Thirupathi Baadineni, holding passport number R8124xx4, is an ISI Informer and intends to hijack Air India flight 951 from Hyderabad to Dubai which was scheduled to depart at 8 p.m..
“Following established protocols set by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the airport’s security team convened a Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) to evaluate the seriousness of the threat. After due consideration of all aspects of the mail, the threat was assessed as ‘Specific’,” said BSN Reddi, Chief Security Officer of RGIA.
He added that the procedure of the ‘specific’ threat was followed and the passenger, Thirupathi Baadineni along with two others namely, L Vinod Kumar and R Rakesh Kumar were deplaned and handed over to the RGI Airport Police. Further, a lady who had come to see off Thirupathi Baadineni will also be interrogated.
In the aftermath of the incident, the scheduled AI 951 flight was cancelled, and alternative arrangements were made for the remaining 111 passengers bound for Dubai. Sub-Inspector B Suman reported that a case has been registered under Sections 385 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code, and a thorough investigation is underway.
