NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA), has taken over the probe into a case linked to alleged bomb threat to a Delhi-bound American Airlines flight from New York, officials said on Saturday.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has directed the NIA to take over probe into the case.
Officials said that the NIA has re-registered an FIR after six months of the reported incident to investigate a larger conspiracy angle.
A senior NIA official quoting the FIR said, “On February 23, IGI airport police station received information regarding presence of a bomb in American flight no AA-292…based on this threat message, the aircraft was diverted to Rome airport, this led to significant operational disruptions for aircraft, crew member and passengers and thereby endangering the safety of aircraft in flight.”
The official said that the central government was of the view that a scheduled offence under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, had been committed. “…having regard to the gravity of the offence, its national and international ramifications, it is required to be investigated by the NIA…,” the MHA direction has been quoted in the FIR.
Immediately after the threat message was received, the authorities formed a Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) at the Delhi airport to conduct a proper inspection of the aircraft at the nearest airport, but the plane was later diverted to Rome for the necessary checks.
American Airlines had then said in a statement that Flight AA292 was diverted to Rome due to a “possible security concern”. It went on to add that the flight “was inspected by law enforcement” after landing at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport and “cleared to re-depart”.
Later, the Delhi Police lodged an FIR based on the complaint lodged by American Airlines. It was registered under sections 217 and 351(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 3 of the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Civil Aviation Act.