Bomb Threat to Delhi Assembly Ahead of Budget

New Delhi: The legislative assembly got a bomb threat on Tuesday morning, hours before chief minister Rekha Gupta was scheduled to present the budget, prompting an immediate security sweep of the premises.According to officials, the first threat email was sent to the assembly’s email ID at 7.28am, followed by a second one addressed to speaker Vijender Gupta at 7.49am. Both the messages warned that a bomb would explode inside the building at 1.11pm and at a Delhi metro station at 9.11pm.The emails mentioned a “Khalistan Referendum” and several high-profile political figures, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, external affairs minister S Jaishankar, chief minister Gupta, Delhi cabinet minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and lieutenant governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu.Police teams, bomb disposal squads and sniffer dogs were deployed at the assembly complex. An anti-sabotage check was done, and security was tightened in and around the building.Officials said the emails were sent from a Gmail account, and efforts are on to trace their origin. “We have heightened security arrangements in and around the premises,” a police officer said, adding that no suspicious object or explosive material was found.Security checks were also extended to nearby areas as a metro station was mentioned in the mail.Police said that the threat appeared to be a hoax, though investigations are on.Police said they are examining technical details and coordinating with cyber experts to identify the sender and ascertain the motive behind the emails.