Barmer, Nagaur dist courts evacuated after bomb threats

Jaisalmer: High alert was declared at court premises Monday in Barmer and Nagaur districts after bomb threats were received through emails, prompting police to evacuate the complexes and deploy dog squads and bomb disposal teams.In Barmer, the district court complex was cleared after a threat was received on district judge's official email address and reported to SP.
The threat surfaced Monday morning when courts reopened after a two-day holiday and premises had already drawn lawyers, staff and members of the public. Senior officers, including the SP, reached the spot and a search operation was launched.According to police, the email warned people to leave the court and claimed a bomb could explode before 1pm. It also alleged that bombs had been dropped using drones and advised authorities to check rooftops. The message referred to terrorist Ajmal Kasab and included other allegations, while insisting the threat was not fake. Police said efforts were underway to trace the source of the email.SP Narendra Singh Meena said the email was received at 10.31pm on the DJ court Barmer email id, and was noticed by staff the next morning. Since the district judge was on leave, the matter was escalated by court staff to senior officials. Police instructed that the premises remain evacuated until 1pm while specialist teams conducted checks.Dog squads and bomb disposal personnel searched the court campus and surrounding areas. No suspicious object was found during the operation, officials said. Police added that a similar email threat had been received earlier and was already under investigation, but the origin had not yet been traced. A report was being prepared for ATS senior officers, and the district cyber team was activated to help track the email.In Nagaur district, the Merta DJ court premises was also evacuated after a threat email was received. Bomb disposal squads were deployed and intelligence agencies, including IB, were engaged in the investigation. Police said the court area was secured heavily and described it as the second bomb threat in a week.Authorities in both districts said security at court premises had been tightened and vigilance increased in nearby areas to prevent any untoward incident.