This Article is From Jan 04, 2015

Hijack Alert For Delhi-Kabul Air India Flight, Security Stepped Up at Airports Ahead of Obama Visit

Hijack Alert For Delhi-Kabul Air India Flight, Security Stepped Up at Airports Ahead of Obama Visit

Security at airports across the country has been tightened

New Delhi: Intelligence agencies have alerted the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) about a possible hijack attempt on an Air India flight. The security agencies have identified sensitive airports, including Kabul, and say that the Delhi-Kabul flight could be targeted.

The alert has been issued in the run-up to the Republic Day and US President Barack Obama's visit to India. Mr Obama will be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations.

Security has been tightened at the airports across the country after the alert.

An anonymous telephone call threatening that an Air India plane would be hijacked was made to the Kolkata office of the state-owned carrier on Saturday evening, police said.

A senior Kolkata police official said it was a brief call in Bengali threatening that an Air India flight would be hijacked. The official, however, did not specify which flight would be targeted.

Senior officials of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, CISF and AAI held a meeting in Kolkata on Saturday night to review the security measures.

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