Threat email disrupts court activities in several courts
Judicial proceedings in several courts, including Orissa High Court, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala, were on Thursday disrupted after the authorities received an anonymous email threatening to damage the premises, prompting police to launch search operations at different places, officials said.
The authorities received an email in Odia where the sender threatened to cause damage to the district judge courts in Cuttack, Sambalpur and Deogarh, they said.
"An anonymous email containing a threat to damage court premises by 2.35 pm has been received at several courts. The police have taken cognisance of the matter and initiated a thorough investigation," a statement issued by police headquarters said.
Odisha DGP YB Khurania said, "As a precautionary measure, police are checking, and enhanced security arrangements have been put in place at all concerned locations. The situation is under close monitoring."
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has expressed deep concern over the news of bomb threats to district courts in Sambalpur, Cuttack and Deogarh and directed high-ranking officers to investigate the incident and find out the truth, a statement issued by the CMO said.
Majhi held discussions with the chief secretary, the additional chief secretary of the Home Department and the Director General of Police. He advised authorities to monitor the situation and ordered them to find out the culprits involved immediately.
The CM said that no complacency can be maintained in the field of protecting the livelihood of the common people. He asked officials to take this incident very seriously and conduct an investigation, as well as send officials to the relevant places to collect detailed information in this regard and find out the real motive behind such incidents.
The chief minister will conduct a complete review of the incident in a high-level meeting in this regard this evening. The DGP also advised the public not to panic and to cooperate with the police in maintaining security and assisting the investigation.
Sources said that the email claimed explosives had been placed on the premises of district courts in Cuttack, Sambalpur, and Deogarh.
Though there is no such threat mail for the high court, the police have vacated the HC premises in Cuttack and are conducting a search operation by engaging sniffer dogs, bomb disposal squad and additional personnel conducting thorough searches while closely monitoring entry and exit points.
However, no suspicious devices or items have been found during the inspections. Advocate General P Acharya said it is most likely a hoax email.
In the wake of the threat mail, the court proceedings in different places were suspended. The judges, lawyers and litigants have come out of the court premises, leaving the premises to the police for proper inspection.
Meanwhile, cyber experts have been asked to immediately trace the origin of the emails, and police have assured that strict action will be taken against those responsible.
Security was beefed up at the Patna Civil Court following a bomb threat email received by the authorities, officials said on Thursday.
The entire court premises was searched thoroughly but no suspicious object was found, Patna (Central) SP, Diksha said. The search operation was carried out without causing any inconvenience to the people, she said. "Prima facie, the mail appears to be a hoax", said the SP.
"A bomb threat through email was received on the email of one of the senior judges of the Patna civil court on Thursday morning. It was mentioned in the mail that explosives were planted inside the civil court premises.
"Security was immediately beefed up on the court premises, and the bomb disposal squad and dog squad were engaged in the security drill. Offices within the court premises were thoroughly checked, and nothing was found," the SP said.
Security has been beefed up on the court premises, and visitors are frisked as a precautionary measure, said the SP, adding that a case has been registered and the Cyber Cell has also been engaged to trace the origin of the email.
Further, a decision has also been taken to conduct a security audit of the Patna civil court, she added.
A search operation was conducted in the Himachal Pradesh High Court on Thursday after a bomb threat was received through an email by court authorities, officials said.
Upon receiving the information, the bomb squad, dog squad and police reached the court. However, they did not discover any explosives within the court complex, they said.
As a precautionary measure, security was beefed up at the court, and a strict vigil is being maintained, the officials said.
Police officials confirmed the report and said that the origin of the e-mail is being figured out, and further investigation is underway.
A bomb threat received at the Kasaragod district, Kerala, on Thursday morning, which led to the evacuation of the complex for inspection, turned out to be a hoax, police said.
