Multiple judicial complexes across Punjab were evacuated in a panic on Thursday (8th January) following a bomb scare. Work remained disrupted for several hours at court complexes in Ludhiana, Ropar, Anandpur Sahib, Ferozepur, Mansa, and Moga due to bomb threat emails. Immediately after receiving the threatening emails, the judicial complexes were evacuated, and bomb squads conducted searches for possible explosives. However, the bomb threats turned out to be a hoax as no explosives were found at any court complex.
Police investigation into the bomb threat emails revealed they were sent from Austria and Germany. Special DGP (Cybercrime) V Neerja said that the senders of the emails had used Tor network and VPN services to mask their identities. “We have written to the Centre to take up further investigations with the two countries,” the DGP said.
A panic situation ensued at the Ludhiana District Courts after a bomb threat email was received on the Sessions Division’s official email ID. The threats prompted judges to vacate courtrooms and stop judicial proceedings. In December 2021, a blast had taken place at the same complex. As per reports, the email was sent by “Ajmal Abdul Raj,” who warned of suicide attacks and claimed that three RDX-based IEDs had been planted. No explosives were discovered in the searches.
Similar visuals were seen in the Moga judicial complex following the threat email. The entire judicial staff, including judges, was evacuated. SSP Ajay Gandhi said that no explosives were detected. Mansa, Budhlada, and Sardulgarh court complexes also witnessed similar panic and were evacuated after the threat emails were received. Later, SSP Bhagirath Singh Meena said that the work at the court resumed after precautionary checks.
A bomb threat email was received at the Ropar court complex. The email reportedly was sent by someone claiming links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a military organisation which sought an independent Tamil state in Sri Lanka. After evacuation and searches, no explosive was found, as confirmed by SSP Gulneet Singh Khurana.
A similar bomb threat email received at the Ferozepur court complex warned of an explosion at 2:30 pm. The same procedure of evacuation and searches was followed by the police administration here. The work at the court resumed after no exploives were found.
