Bomb threat emails trigger security alert across Gujarat courts, premises evacuated, searches underway

A wave of bomb threat emails sent to courts across Gujarat on Tuesday triggered panic and led to the evacuation of court premises, suspension of judicial proceedings and extensive search operations by police, bomb disposal squads and dog squads.

According to officials, threatening emails warning of bomb blasts using RDX were sent to the registrars or official email IDs of several courts, including the City Civil and Sessions Court at Lal Darwaja in Ahmedabad, the Gujarat High Court, and district courts in Rajkot, Surat and Bharuch 

Ahmedabad and High Court on alert

In Ahmedabad, the City Civil and Sessions Court received a bomb threat via email, prompting authorities to immediately suspend court proceedings and evacuate the entire court complex. Bomb disposal teams, dog squads and local police launched a detailed search operation across the premises.

Simultaneously, the Gujarat High Court also received a similar threat email. Following standard operating procedures, police teams conducted thorough checks inside and around the High Court campus with the help of dog squads. Officials noted that the High Court has received such threats on multiple occasions in the past, all of which later turned out to be hoaxes, but every threat is treated with utmost seriousness.

Threats to district courts

Panic also gripped other parts of the state as:

The Surat District Court was evacuated after a bomb threat email, and a search operation was launched under heavy police deployment.

The Rajkot court received a threat to blow up the premises, following which the security in charge alerted the police control room. Bomb squad, dog squad, SOG and University Police were pressed into service, and the court complex was cleared.

The Bharuch court was similarly threatened via email, leading to the evacuation of the court complex and intensive checking by bomb and dog squads.

Earlier, on Monday, a threat email had also been received by the Ahmedabad Rural Court, adding to concerns over a coordinated attempt to create panic.

Security measures intensified

Police officials said no suspicious object had been found at any of the locations till the filing of this report. However, security has been tightened across all court complexes in the state, and cyber teams have been roped in to trace the origin of the emails.

“The threats appear to be aimed at creating fear and disrupting judicial functioning. We are treating the matter seriously and are investigating whether the emails originated from a single source,” a senior police officer sai