5 UP district courts get bomb threats, nothing suspicious found

Lucknow/Meerut (UP), Feb 16 (PTI) Five district courts in Uttar Pradesh, including Lucknow received bomb threats, triggering a search operation that involved bomb and dog squads in the court premises, officials said.

Nothing suspicious has so far been recovered in the court premises of Lucknow, Meerut, Amroha, Azamgarh and Varanasi where the bomb threats were received, they said.

Similar threats were also received by five courts in Karnataka, the Nainital district court in Uttarakhand and nearly three dozen schools in Gujarat.

In Lucknow, a threat message via an email was sent to the district judge around 7 am, they said.

"The court premises were thoroughly checked, searched and frisked under senior police officials, bomb detection and disposal squad and dog squad were also pressed into action," SHO of Wazeerganj police station Rajesh Kumar Tripathi told PTI.

He added that the chambers, courtrooms, and dustbins were also checked.

The search operation by three teams began around 8 am, and lasted till around noon, Tripathi said, adding that no one has been detained for the bomb threat so far.

The court premises in Lucknow were thoroughly checked, searched and frisked under the supervision of senior police officials, officials said.

In Meerut, authorities evacuated the court staff and others and took them to a safe location before carrying out a search operation.

Normal work in the courts in Meerut has resumed after nothing suspicious was found, they said.

All judicial officers gathered on the lawn in front of the district judge's court as the bomb squad and dog squad were deployed in the court premises. Court-related work was disrupted till noon due to security reasons.

The police team, led by CO (Civil Lines) Abhishek Tiwari, conducted a thorough operation and people were questioned and parked vehicles were thoroughly checked.

Officials said surveillance drones did a perimeter check of the entire court area as well as the multi-storey sessions court building.

Tiwari told PTI that nothing has come up in the searches so far and efforts are being made to identify the sender of the email.

The situation is normal but security has been tightened as a precautionary measure, he said.

At the Varanasi district court, police force from several police stations, a PAC team, bomb and dog squads, as well as bar officials were present during the searches, said ACP Cantt Nitin Taneja.

The Amroha district court was put on high alert after the bomb threat.

The threatening message claimed that an explosion would occur within the court premises at 12.15 pm. The Nainital district judge was also warned of a blast at the same time.

Circle Officer Amroha Abhishek Kumar Yadav said that upon receiving the information, the court administration and local police increased security measures. The bomb and dog squads were immediately deployed to the scene to conduct a thorough check.

All entry points to the court are being strictly monitored, police said, and added that efforts are on to investigate the origin of the email to identify and arrest the sender.

Police administration in Azamgarh swung into action in response to the bomb threat to a civil court that caused panic and commotion there.

According to eyewitnesses, lawyers, litigants, and staff present in the court complex were immediately evacuated and taken to a safe location.

For security reasons, the main gates were sealed, and public movement was restricted. A heavy police force was deployed on the scene as all rooms and the parking area was thoroughly searched.

Senior Superintendent of Police of Azamgarh Anil Kumar said nothing incriminating has been found so far after the court complex was thoroughly searched. The situation is under control, he said. In Aligarh, meanwhile, a mock drill was conducted on Monday at the district civil courts to test the preparedness of the police and administrative machinery in case of a bomb threat.

At 12.10 pm word spread at the civil courts complex that a bomb had been planted somewhere inside the court complex, a senior police officer said, making it clear that the mock drill was conducted after taking the district judge into confidence.

"Within 20 minutes, the entire court complex was evacuated and all concerned police teams, including the bomb detection squad and dog squad, were pressed into action," he told reporters.

"...today's exercise is part of preparedness to face any such eventuality in the future," he added. PTI COR NAV SKY SKY