BENGALURU: Various courts across Karnataka, including the High Court bench in Dharwad and district courts in Mysuru, Gadag and Bagalkot were put on high alert after receiving emails warning of bomb explosions inside the court premises on Tuesday morning.
In Bengaluru, Regional Passport Office located at Koramangala received a similar threat email.The threats, however, turned out to be a hoax.
In Dharwad, court proceedings were resumed after police and bomb squad sanitized the campus in a three-hour-long inspection. The email had warned of an explosion around 1.55 pm in the court premises. Police Superintendent Gunjan Arya said the threat was a hoax.
At the Mysuru District Court, an email was received around 10.30 am at the office of the Mysuru Principal and District Judge, Usha Rani, warning of three blasts between 12.30 pm and 1.30 pm, targeting both court complexes—one on Krishnaraja Boulevard and the main court complex at Malalavadi in Kuvempunagar—triggering anxiety across the premises.
Panic in several courts across Karnataka
The threat created panic at Mysuru District Court complex, with judges, advocates, court staff and litigants rushing out of the buildings. The police, along with the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad and sniffer dogs, evacuated all 54 court halls and offices in both complexes and sealed the main gates to prevent entry. The police said no suspicious or explosive materials were found during the inspection and the threat was a hoax.
An August 1, 2016, an IED blast occurred at the law courts complex on KR Boulevard, when a cooker bomb was planted in a toilet at the rear of the premises near Chamarajapuram railway station in Mysuru.
The Gadag District Court received a hoax bomb email at 1.55 pm.
District Superintendent of Police (SP) Rohan Jagadish, said the police inspected the court premises and said the threat was a hoax.
There was panic at the District Court complex in Navanagar in the wake of the hoax bomb email. The email claimed that bombs had been planted at critical locations within the court premises and would go off during the lunch hour. The police inspected the premises and it was declared a hoax.
In all instances the police have registered cases and further investigation is going on.