Vadodara, March 5 (IANS) A bomb threat sent via email to the Vadodara District Court on Thursday prompted authorities to evacuate the premises and carry out extensive security checks, officials said.
The threat targeted the court complex located in the Diwalipura area of the city and was received shortly after the courts opened for the day.
Police immediately closed all entry gates to the complex and stopped the entry of lawyers and litigants.
Those already present inside the premises were asked to leave as a precaution, and all court proceedings were temporarily halted.
Teams from the police, along with dog squads and the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS), conducted a thorough search operation across the court premises.
Security arrangements were tightened as officials began checking buildings and surrounding areas for any suspicious objects.
Vadodara Police Commissioner Narasimha Komar told IANS that the threat was received through an email in the morning.
"The bomb threat via email was received at around 10:30 a.m, the time when the court opened," he said.
He said police teams and specialised units immediately began searching the premises following the alert.
"Currently, extensive checking is going on at the premises by police officials and bomb squads. Nothing suspicious has been found as of now," Komar said.
According to the Commissioner, the email account used in the latest threat is different from those used in earlier cases.
"The email address this time is different from the past cases and is an 'Outlook' account," he said.
Komar added that the contents of the message were written in Gujarati language and included references to political issues outside the state.
"The content of the email is in Gujarati and it is related to the politics of Tamil Nadu, DMK, etc. We are checking the origin of the email sent as our investigation is ongoing," he said.
Police officials said the court had received a similar bomb threat through email 15 days ago.
On that occasion, teams from the police and cyber cell had carried out detailed searches, but no explosive material or suspicious object was found and the threat was later considered a hoax.
Authorities have launched a fresh investigation into the latest email to trace its origin, while security checks at the court complex continued.
--IANS
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