Now, RTO gets cyanide gas bomb threat email

Indore: High alert was sounded at Indore regional transport office (RTO) on Monday after it received hoax bomb threat email.The email threatened to detonate "15 cyanide gas bombs" on the RTO premises. The email which rambled on Tamil Nadu politics, prompted a massive evacuation and an intensive search operation by the bomb disposal squad (BDS). It was sent to the official govt ID of the RTO at 10:06 pm on Sunday from the address neeraja_gandhi@outlook.com. However, the threat only came to light when staff opened the office and checked the inbox on Monday morning.The sender, identifying the subject as "15 small cyanide gas bomb blasts", issued a chilling ultimatum. The demand was to "withdraw the CBI case against Tamil minister Senthil Balaji and evacuate all employees immediately". The email strangely alluded to a Telugu film titled "Raju Weds Rambai (Saailu Kampati)".Upon discovering the message, RTO Pradeep Kumar Sharma immediately alerted Tejaji Nagar police. Within minutes, a heavy police contingent, including the ACP Zone-1 and Tejaji Nagar police station in-charge arrived at the scene, accompanied by the BDS."The entire RTO complex was cordoned off as experts systematically scanned every corner of the building for hazardous devices. Following a thorough search, the BDS confirmed that no cyanide bombs or suspicious material were present on the campus," Sharma told TOI.Authorities have declared the threat a hoax, though they are not taking the matter lightly. "The information provided in the email was found to be false after a complete sweep. But, given the specific political references and the mention of cyanide, we are working with the cyber cell to trace the origin of the IP address used to send the email," a police official stated.The incident caused significant disruption to RTO services on Monday, with hundreds of citizens asked to wait outside, while the security operation was underway.