IS attack threat scribbled on Mumbai airport toilet

A threat message warning of an ISIS attack on Republic Day was spotted on a toilet wall in Mumbai airport on Friday, nine days after a similar message.

A threat message warning of an Islamic State (ISIS) attack on Republic Day was spotted on a toilet wall in Mumbai airport on Friday, nine days after a similar message.

Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel spotted the message threatening an attack by the ISIS on January 26.

The message was scribbled on the wall of a toilet in the domestic arrival terminal 1A. The earlier threat message had been spotted on January 7 in the toilet wall of a washroom in the international arrival terminal 2A.

The Mumbai airport has a high level of security following multiple terror alerts.

The flurry of terror alerts are being linked to US President Barack Obama’s impending visit to India, where he will be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade in New Delhi.

On the latest toilet scribble, a senior CISF official said, “Since the arrival terminals are used by a host of people including fliers, airport staff and airline crew, it is difficult to spot the culprit.”

The official, who did not want to be named, added that security forces were looking at closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footage.

Officials are not ruling out any possibility on the scribbled messages. They are also looking into the messages possibly being the handiwork of pranksters.

Another CISF official said, “Last week the Air India call centre in Thane received a bomb alert. But the caller soon dialled back and admitted it was a joke. These messages could be of the same kind.”

The airport has been on a high alert since intelligence sources spelt out a hijack threat on Air India flights. Armed deployment of jawans in watch booths, 100 metres ahead of terminal gates, has been doubled. Patrolling and physical frisking has been intensified as well.