Hoax bomb threat at Kanpur airport triggers panic, 21-year-old arrested

NEW DELHI: Panic briefly gripped Chakeri Airport in Kanpur on Friday after a hoax call claimed a bomb had been planted on a 72-seater flight. Authorities later confirmed it was a false alarm and arrested a 21-year-old man for making the call.

According to ACP Sumit Sudhakar Ramteke, an airport staff member named Satendra Singh received the threat call, in which the caller said the bomb would explode once the flight lands.

#WATCH | Kanpur, UP | ACP, Police Commissionerate Kanpur Nagar, Sumit Sudhakar Ramteke, says, "Around 12:30 PM, the CISF was contacted by an unknown caller saying that a bomb had been placed in a 72-seater plane (at Chakeri Airport). The CISF informed the Chakeri PS. The Chakeri… pic.twitter.com/euyfadbvMZ

— ANI (@ANI) April 18, 2025

Security teams, including a bomb disposal squad and an anti-sabotage check (ASC) unit, were immediately deployed to search the airport premises. However, no suspicious object was found.

Local police, with help from a surveillance team, tracked down and arrested the caller, identified as Mohit Singh, a resident of Yashoda Nagar, within two hours.

During interrogation, Singh admitted the threat was a prank. He has been booked under relevant sections of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita for causing panic and making a false alarm.