Pune, 1 July

A private airline's office at Pune airport received a bomb threat, following which checks were conducted at the international airport but nothing suspicious was found, police said on Tuesday.

The airline received an email at 1.25 am on Sunday which said: "Powerful explosive devices are hidden inside the backpacks placed around the airport and planes. You must evacuate the building urgently...people will die."

A customer care executive of the airline read the email at around 6.45 am and alerted authorities, an official from Vimantal police station said.

After being alerted, personnel from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) and local police conducted extensive searches in and outside the airport premises.

"No suspicious object or person was found. The threat turned out to be a hoax," the official said.

Based on a complaint by the airline staff, a case has been registered and the police's cyber team has launched a probe to trace the email sender, he added.