Assembly receives fresh bomb threat email

The Delhi Assembly received a fresh bomb threat email on Wednesday, prompting intensive checks even as House proceedings were underway, a day after a similar threat surfaced just hours before Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s scheduled budget presentation, officials said.

The entire Assembly premises were searched by sniffer dogs and bomb detection teams, and nothing suspicious was found. It turned out to be a hoax, said a senior police officer.

Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta, informing the House about the bomb threat, said, “The email was sent to the Speaker’s Office at the Delhi Assembly mentioning certain organisations allegedly linked to Naxalites and Pakistan-based units.”

The email claimed 16 RDX-IEDs had been planted, with a plan to trigger blasts at 1:40 pm. Gupta said it was a clear instruction of the House to the police to investigate the matter from every possible angle.

“It is imperative to unmask the terrorist and anti-national forces that are being encouraged or supported through various channels within this country,” he said.

The Speaker said that the Assembly Secretariat has already forwarded the emails, including one sent on Tuesday, to the police and its cybercrime team was also probing the matter.

On the threat mail, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa alleged that AAP could be behind the threats. “Such threats at the time when Chief Minister Rekha Gupta presented the Delhi budget were not natural. The probe should also investigate if there was any role of AAP in it,” he said.