New Delhi, Oct 26: Indian intelligence agencies are closely monitoring the gradual rise in the number of hoax threats in the country. The issue that dominated headlines last year has gone down drastically after concrete action by the security agencies. Last year, these threats were mainly directed at the airline industry and schools.
It caused immense losses to the airlines, as many flights had to be grounded before being cleared to fly. The hoax threats to schools did a lot of psychological damage to students, their parents, and also the teachers. An Intelligence Bureau official said that there are clear signs that such threats would begin to rise once again.
This time around, the focus would largely be on the celebrities and the political class. “Following the Tiger Shroff shooting incident, there is a great deal of panic among the celebrities. The ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) finds this an opportune time to capitalise on that sentiment and increase the number of these hoax threats with a particular focus on film personalities,” the official said.
Another official said none of these threats could be dismissed outright. Each had to be verified and the threat completely ruled out before it could be declared a hoax. The official said the game is a psychological one, adding that the aim is to create panic in society. “For instance, when a celebrity receives a threat, even if it is later declared a hoax, the incident continues to play on their mind for a long time. They remain wary of their movements, and this psychological distress is precisely what these elements seek to inflict,” the official said.
Recent bomb threats targeting actor Amitabh Bachchan and singer Diljit Dosanjh are signals of what these elements are trying to do. Although both were declared to be hoaxes, they did create a lot of panic, and the security agencies had a lot of work to do to eliminate the threat and declare it a hoax.
The official said such threats were not confined to celebrities or politicians. The elements behind them could target specific areas where violence or similar incidents had already created an atmosphere of fear. Issuing threats in such places only heightened public anxiety, leaving people with a lingering sense of insecurity.
The ISI operates a dedicated wing to carry out psychological operations in India, an official said. The hoax threats are part of these operations, with the agency seeking to exploit existing public fears and intensify its offensive. Such operations are relatively easy to execute and cost-effective, the official added.
The ISI’s handlers recruit young people, including boys, by paying them small sums of money, sometimes as little as Rs 500. They are then tasked with issuing threats by writing them on pieces of paper and leaving these outside the offices or homes of celebrities and politicians. The security agencies have been advising people not to panic and to report such matters immediately, instead of ignoring them. This would help eliminate the threat and declare the same a hoax, an official said.
IANS