At least six district courts in West Bengal were evacuated on Tuesday afternoon after bomb threat emails were received, police said. Sniffer dogs and bomb squads searched the premises. No explosives were found till 2 PM. Officials suspect the emails were a hoax, Hindustan Times reported.
The affected courts include City Civil and Sessions Court and Bankshall Court in Kolkata, along with courts in Chinsurah (Hooghly), Asansol and Durgapur (West Burdwan), and Berhampore (Murshidabad).
Police said similar emails were sent to multiple courts at the same time. The cyber crime wing is tracing the source. Authorities said strong action will be taken once the sender is identified.
Search operations and security measures
Court premises were vacated as a precaution. Judges and staff were asked to step out to allow quick searches. Security was tightened at several other courts across the state following the scare. Police and bomb disposal teams conducted detailed checks inside court buildings.
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A press conference was held at the state secretariat while search operations were underway. State Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty said the pattern of emails was similar in all cases. She said the government is working to ensure safety so that official duties are not affected, HT reported.
Link to SIR exercise
The incidents came hours after the Supreme Court said judicial officers from Odisha and Jharkhand could be deployed to help dispose of nearly 60 lakh disputed voter claims during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
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Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal said the state must ensure security for judicial officers involved in the SIR process. Director General of Police Peeyush Pandey and Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar confirmed that investigations are ongoing. No injuries were reported. Further probe is underway.
