THIRUVANATHAPURAM: The Chief Minister’s official residence, Cliff House, received a bomb threat on Monday. The threat message was sent to the Chief Minister’s private secretary via email. A similar threat message was also received at the South Indian Bank branch at Palayam.
Police, along with bomb squads and canine units, conducted thorough inspections at both places.
However, no suspicious objects were found during the searches.
This follows a series of similar threats received by many places in the city this year. Although multiple cases have been registered, police have not yet been able to identify who is behind the threats.
Hoax bomb threats were sent to major locations such as the central railway station, airport, collectorate, district court, luxury hotels, and the secretariat this year.
The threats have primarily come in the form of emails claiming that bombs have been planted. While all alerts have turned out to be false, they have necessitated extensive inspections, straining the resources of police and emergency services.
Law and order DCP T Farish said there are similarities in the content of the messages, but no common lead has yet been identified.
The city’s cyber crime police have been facing challenges in tracing the perpetrators due to the use of @outlook.com and @hotline.com email extensions.
Officials said the threats appear to be designed to incite public panic.