Bomb threat prompts evacuation at Barwani district & sessions court

Barwani: Panic gripped district and sessions court in Barwani on Friday after a bomb threat was received via email, prompting immediate evacuation and large-scale security check of the premises.District and sessions judge Mahendra Kumar Jain told mediapersons that an email in Tamil language was received on the court's official ID around 12 pm. After translation, the message read: ‘15 poisonous bombs had been planted across the court premises and would explode at 1 pm'. "Although it was a holiday, the e-service centre was operational, with some staff and lawyers present at the time," he said.Superintendent of Police Padma Vilochan Shukla told mediapersons that the police were alerted around 12 noon, following which a team from Kotwali police station rushed to the spot and cleared the entire premises as a precaution. Courtrooms, lawyers' chambers, and nearby shops were also closed, he said.Senior police and administrative officials reached the spot and intensive searches were carried out with the help of a dog squad."A bomb disposal squad from Khargone (90 km away) was also deployed, and traffic on roads adjoining the court was temporarily restricted," the SP said."Police teams conducted a thorough inspection of the entire premises, but no suspicious object was found. Efforts are underway to trace the source of the email, with cyber experts examining its origin," he said.Similar email threats were recently received in Bhopal, Indore, Satna, and Maihar, which turned out to be hoaxes.