PURI: A social media post threatening to bomb the Shree Jagannath Temple and the Grand Centre market sent the Puri police into a tizzy which beefed up security at the 12th century shrine and other sensitive locations of the pilgrim town on Wednesday.
The message also threatened to kill Rajya Sabha MP Subhasis Khuntia. Preliminary investigation revealed that the message was posted from a Facebook account named ‘Julirani Panda’.
Police said they are working to ascertain who actually uploaded the content and to trace the IP address from which it originated.
Police have also sought information from Meta regarding the creation and operation of the Facebook account, including the location from where the content was uploaded.
Meanwhile, a person was detained for allegedly making the threat message viral on social media and is being questioned to determine his role.
Puri SP Prateek Singh said security has been intensified at sensitive locations, including the Srimandir. Personnel from the Special Task Unit (STU) and the Srimandir Surakshya Bahini have been deployed. A special investigation team, comprising experienced officers and headed by a deputy superintendent of police, has been constituted to probe the threat.
Khuntia said he had received a message from an unknown number a few days ago demanding Rs 10 lakh. The sender asked him to resign as MP if he failed to pay up. “I initially ignored it, assuming it to be a hoax.
However, I have taken the matter seriously now after the Facebook account threatened to eliminate me,” Khuntia told the media. He said he has filed a complaint with the police and sought security for his family. Many Facebook users are being questioned by police for forwarding the message.
A web channel editor had earlier complained of receiving threats from the same Facebook account and had lodged a case at the Baselisahi police station, which is currently under investigation.
The Shree Jagannath temple is considered a soft target for terror attack. Last year, a threat message was written on the Emar Mutt wall.