Delhi Assembly, Red Fort receive bomb threats; security on alert
What's the story
The Red Fort and the Delhi Legislative Assembly were among the targets of bomb threat emails sent on Monday morning. The threats triggered evacuations at the Delhi Legislative Assembly and extensive searches by security agencies. However, all threats were later declared hoaxes. A senior police official clarified that no separate email was sent specifically to the Red Fort; it was mentioned in emails received by schools and the Delhi Vidhan Sabha.
Email content
Emails sent in Punjabi, refer to Khalistan
The emails, sent to Army Public School and Air Force Bal Bharti School, warned of a bomb blast at the Red Fort at 1:07pm. According to a senior police officer, the messages, written in Punjabi, referred to Khalistan and contained the phrase "Dilli banega Khalistan," along with allegedly derogatory remarks against the Prime Minister.
School threats
No suspicious items found during searches
The Army Public School in Delhi Cantonment and Air Force Bal Bharti School in Lodhi Colony received the threat emails around 8:00am. The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) received two calls regarding these threats, with one at 8:50am for Army Public School and another at 9:36am for Air Force Bal Bharti School. A fire tender was dispatched to each school as a precautionary measure, but no suspicious items were found during searches.
Assembly threat
Bomb disposal squad checked Delhi assembly
The bomb threat email was sent to the official ID of the Speaker of the Delhi Legislative Assembly. After receiving the email, a bomb disposal squad checked the premises for nearly two hours before declaring it a hoax. The work in the assembly was affected during this time as officials were asked to vacate the premises.
Security measures
Origin of emails being traced; panic spread
The incidents come days after security was tightened in Delhi due to intelligence alerts about possible terror plots targeting religious places near the Red Fort and Chandni Chowk. It also came after a special cell of the Delhi Police arrested eight persons with alleged links with Pakistan- and Bangladesh-based terror organizations on Sunday.