HP: Authorities on alert after bomb threats to offices of chief secy, Mandi DC
Shimla/Mandi, April 17 (PTI) After the deputy commissioner’s office in Mandi received a bomb threat email on Wednesday, Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena said on Thursday that a similar threat mail was sent to his office in Shimla on the same day.
The email referred to the chief secretary’s office located inside the Secretariat complex in Shimla, claiming that something is going to happen in Tamil Nadu and the timing to execute the threat in Himachal Pradesh would be adjusted accordingly, sources said.
Speaking to the PTI, Saxena said that two threat mails were received on Wednesday, one at his office in Shimla and the other at the deputy commissioner’s (DC) office in Mandi.
The origin of both the emails is being traced, and if necessary, help would be sought from the central agencies to arrest the culprits, Saxena said.
“Both the offices were vacated and sanitised on Wednesday. While nothing suspicious has been found so far, the authorities have been put on high alert,” the chief secretary said, adding that security has been strengthened at both the locations.
Similar threats were received by some schools and airlines in the recent past but fortunately nothing untoward happened, he added.
“A threat to the Secretariat should not be taken lightly, as it is a serious issue. Similar threats were received at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and other places. The NIA, state police and the CID should work together and probe the matter,” state PWD minister Vikramaditya Singh said.
On Monday, police registered a case after former minister Virendra Kanwar received a call threatening to kidnap and kill him for ransom.
In Mandi, the employees at the DC office were allowed to attend work on Thursday after security checks. However, an appeal has been made to the public not to visit the office premises unless they have some urgent work.
Mandi SP Sakshi Verma said the office was cleared after teams from the bomb squad, CISF, dog squad, and three police teams from Mandi, Kullu and Bilaspur thoroughly checked the premises. PTI BPL COR ARI
