ISI Psy-Ops Revealed: How Hoax Bomb Calls Target India's Economy

Two weeks back, a bomb threat was issued to the Chennai residence of Vice-President C P Radhakrishna. This, too, turned out to be a hoax.

While the police officials of the respective states are looking into these cases individually, the central agencies are probing a possible larger conspiracy. Investigations are ongoing into the scores of hoax threats that were made to schools, mainly in Delhi. However, the cases the agencies are looking at more closely are the hoax threats that were made to the airlines that disrupted operations, which resulted in massive losses and inconvenience.

An Intelligence Bureau official says their assessment is that some calls are personal. These persons either suffer psychologically or have some personal grouse. However, the ones that were made to the schools, airlines, or the VP's residence are part of a larger conspiracy, the official said.

The agencies have learnt that these threats are calculated psy ops or psychological operations. Such operations, which are usually conducted by external elements, are aimed at spreading fear and panic. The threats, in particular to schools and the airlines, are calculated operations which are not only aimed at creating panic, but also ensuring financial losses.

The ISI does have a dedicated wing which carries out psy ops in India. The distress migration of northeastern Indians in 2012 was triggered by an electronic message that originated from the ISI's wing in Pakistan. In 1989, too, this wing had broadcast television footage of anti-communist revolts in Europe and urged Kashmiri Muslims to rise against New Delhi in a similar fashion.

Intelligence agencies say that this wing of the ISI would continue to indulge in such operations. Pakistan, which faced humiliation in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, is trying to paint India in a very poor light and hence is deploying every trick at its disposal. The agencies say that in the days to come, the country could expect many more such hoax calls aimed at creating panic.

Police officials say that in 9 out of 10 cases, they are aware that these are hoax calls. However, a standard protocol needs to be followed, and during such time, a lot of inconvenience is caused. If a school receives such a call, then during the standard protocol, it has to remain closed for the entire day until there is a clearance given. In the case of an airline, the flight has to be grounded or diverted until clearance is given to fly. This not only causes inconvenience but also huge losses to the airline industry. This is exactly what the ISI wants, and hence its cell has become extremely active.

The central agencies say that if one looks at the statistics, there is a huge spike in the number of such cases, thus indicating that this is a well-coordinated operation. In 2020, only four such incidents relating to airlines were reported, but in the last five years, 804 hoax calls have been received by the airlines. In the year 2024 alone, the number of 709, thus suggesting that the number of such cases has witnessed a huge spike. In December 2024, in a span of nine days, 130 such calls were made.

By targeting the airline Industry, the ISI aims to create a massive financial loss. Each hoax call costs an airline over Rs 3 crore. It also creates panic in the minds of the people, which makes them less confident to fly. The ISI is basically trying to weaken an already stressed industry and, in the long run, trying to hurt the Indian economy, an official pointed out.

Experts say that the Indian agencies are putting in place measures to counter this problem. This includes investment in more advanced call tracking and Artificial Intelligence-powered call analysis. Measures are also being taken to put in place improved quantum computing and aviation cybersecurity frameworks.

- IANS