Wednesday afternoon saw the Union Home Ministry’s office at Delhi’s North Block thrown into chaos as an ominous bomb threat arrived via email around 3:30 pm.
Responding swiftly, a convoy of Delhi Police, bomb disposal units, and fire department vehicles descended upon the scene. With a sense of urgency, teams from the Delhi Fire Service (DFS), equipped with canine units and specialized bomb detection squads, meticulously combed through the block. Despite their thorough efforts, no suspicious items were found. Consequently, officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) declared the threat a hoax.
Confirming the false alarm, a spokesperson for the home ministry informed, “We received a hoax bomb threat via email. The Delhi police are currently investigating the matter.” According to a police source, the DFS was alerted after a staff member stationed at the North Block intercepted the threatening email.
This recent incident follows a series of similar threats targeting various locations in the city, including Indira Gandhi International Airport Terminal-3 and several hospitals. Prior to these events, numerous schools in Delhi-NCR had also been targeted with similar threats, all of which were subsequently determined to be false alarms. The pattern extends beyond Delhi, with schools in Jaipur, Lucknow, Kanpur, and Ahmedabad also receiving menacing emails.
Investigations into these hoax bomb threats have revealed a common origin, with many tracing back to sources in Pakistan and Russia. Indian security agencies have reached out to international counterparts in pursuit of more comprehensive details regarding these threats.