New Delhi, March 4 || Indian intelligence agencies have warned that cases relating to hoax bomb threats are set to increase in the coming months, especially with a number of elections coming up.
In the last year, many schools and airlines have been receiving such calls. The airline industry, in particular, was the hardest hit as a result of these calls, as the recalling and rescheduling of flights caused heavy losses.
An Intelligence Bureau official said that this is a low-cost operation for the ISI, as it does not need much investment. However, the consequences are huge as it spreads panic among the people, the official said.
Another official said that this time, the ISI will heavily use the Khalistan elements to undertake this mission. The official said that these persons will look to create panic in states across the country.
This week, the Ahmedabad Crime Branch arrested Biswas, who had made a threat call threatening schools and lower courts in the name of the Khalistan movement. However, the police are still ascertaining whether he was working alone or was part of some larger network.
Biswas had emailed a school in Gujarat, threatening to blow it up. He also said that Gujarat would become the next Khalistan.
The ISI has also been working on a plan for West Bengal and the rest of the states that would be facing the elections this year.
Apart from hoax calls, the ISI also plans to instruct its stooges to indulge in a massive disinformation campaign in these states.
Issues such as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) would be issues that these elements would raise to spread misinformation about the voters and their rights.