Hoax bomb threats trigger statewide scare across courts

A wave of bomb threat messages sent to courts across Karnataka on Monday triggered panic, evacuations and massive combing operations, before authorities declared each of them as a hoax.The coordinated nature of the threats — many sent via email and one via fax — renewed calls for tighter cyber monitoring, enhanced digital security systems and coordinated preventive mechanisms. With multiple courts across the state receiving threats within hours of each other, police have launched investigations to determine whether the messages originated from a common source. DharwadIn the second such incident in just over a month, the Dharwad bench of the Karnataka high court received a bomb threat email on Monday, triggering panic and evacuation. After a search lasting over three hours, the threat was declared a hoax. The email — similar to one received on Jan 6 — claimed an RDX bomb had been planted on the premises and would detonate at 1.15 pm on Feb 16. It also demanded withdrawal of EWS reservation implementation in Tamil Nadu. High court additional registrar Shantaveer Shivappa alerted the police, who evacuated the premises, including parked vehicles, and pressed fire and emergency services into action. Fingerprint experts and the bomb disposal squad conducted a two-hour search before declaring it a hoax. Proceedings resumed later. Soon after, a similar email reached the Dharwad district and sessions court, causing evacuation and a search operation. No suspicious material was found. President of the High Court Advocates' Association, B D Hiremath, urged authorities to identify the culprits and strengthen cybersecurity in courts. MangaluruThe district court complex received a hoax threat mail. City police commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy CH said the anti-sabotage check (ASC) team inspected the premises but found nothing suspicious. HaveriA bomb threat via fax around noon led to evacuation of the district court. Police, a canine squad and the bomb disposal team searched the building, including the basement parking area. After two hours, it was declared a false alarm. KarwarA threat email to the principal district and sessions court, received at 8.25 am, warned of detonation before 12.15 pm. The mail, sent from an ID identified as Sunniya Dasan (sunniya_dasan@outlook.com), contained objectionable and confusing content. Police launched an investigation. MandyaA hoax email triggered evacuation of Mandya city court around 11.30 am. SP V J Shobharani supervised a search with the canine squad and fire department. A similar hoax email targeted Madikeri court.