Three Rajasthan collectorates get threat emails, probe underway

Bomb threat emails sent to three district collectorate offices in Rajasthan on Tuesday triggered panic and led to largescale security operations reported the IANSThe collectorates in Ajmer Dholpur and Barmer received threatening emails at around 1145 am prompting authorities to immediately evacuate the premises as a precautionary measurePolice teams bomb disposal squads and dog squads were deployed to carry out thorough search operations at all three locationsOfficials later confirmed that no suspicious objects have been found so farEmail reportedly sent from Tamil NaduIn Barmer the district collectorate received a bomb threat email reportedly sent from Tamil Nadu as per the IANSSuperintendent of Police Narendra Singh Meena said the entire premises was sealed following the alert and an extensive search was conducted Security agencies are continuing efforts to trace the origin of the emailDistrict Collector received emailIn Ajmer Additional Superintendent of Police City Himanshu Jangid said District Collector Lokbandhu received the threatening email during the ongoing Urs festival causing panic in the surrounding area Police immediately reached the site and evacuated the collectorate buildingThis marks the third bomb threat received by the Ajmer District Collectorate this month Earlier threats were reported on December 4 and December 10 targeting both the collectorate and the Ajmer DargahPolice evacuated the buildingThe Dholpur District Collectorate also received a similar threat via email Police evacuated the building without delay and the nearby office of the Superintendent of Police was also cleared as a safety measureA dog squad was summoned from Bharatpur while SP Vikas Sangwan personally supervised the search operation Authorities said investigations are ongoing with cyber teams working to identify and track the source of the threatening emails the news agency reportedBomb threat emails to Mumbai courts and banksMeanwhile last week bomb threat emails were sent to multiple courts and banks in Mumbai which had triggered heightened security on December 18 prompting an extensive security sweep across judicial premises in the cityThe threats targeted at least five courts including the Bombay High Court as well as two to three banks police sources said After detailed searches no suspicious or explosive material was found at any locationOfficials said the emails were sent using Outlookbased email IDs following which standard operating procedures were immediately activated Bomb Detection and Disposal Squads local police teams and senior officers conducted thorough checks at the high court and at least four to five magistrate courts across Mumbai Banks that received similar emails were also searched as a precautionInvestigators believe the threats were sent by a repeat hoaxer who has been targeting sensitive institutions in Mumbai for over a yearPolice said courts in the city have received similar bomb threat emails five to six times in the past year All alerts eventually turned out to be hoaxes but each is treated as a highrisk inputAccording to officers the emails follow a consistent patternwith IANS inputs