Another email threat to courts forces evacuation, disrupts proceedings

Patna: Civil courts in Patna, Danapur, and Kishanganj received another bomb threat on Wednesday morning via email, prompting immediate evacuation and heightened security measures on the premises.The threatening email, received around 6.27am (from sunniya_dasan@outlook.com) by the registrar, warned that five bombs would explode in the court premises at 1pm. The message concluded with provocative slogans: “Long live Pakistan and Kanimozhi!” Authorities treated the threat with the utmost seriousness, evacuating judges, lawyers, litigants, staff, and visitors as a precautionary measure.Upon receiving information about the incident, a police team from Pirbahore police station arrived at the Patna civil court. They sealed all the entry and exit gates and did not allow anyone to enter the court premises. The police team, along with the bomb disposal and dog squads, thoroughly searched the courtrooms and the entire premises, but nothing suspicious was found, the official said.The incident disrupted normal judicial proceedings, notably affecting a scheduled hearing in the Patna civil court involving Independent MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav.On the series of bomb threats, Patna SSP Kartikeya K Sharma, who also rushed to the court premises, said, “No arrests have been made in any case. We received some information in the previous two cases in Jan this year, and the threats came from two different locations in the country. In the Jan cases, we obtained details. Whether these are connected or from the same group is not known yet,” he said.The SSP told TOI that a dedicated team, including ATS and the cybercell, is actively investigating the threats. “We contact the email service providers to obtain details, and once the forensic report arrives, we expect IP information from Microsoft, though it takes time. No explosives or devices were found in previous incidents either, and the content of these emails makes no sense. So, it is not clear what their purpose is and why they are doing it.”Advocate Virendra Sharma voiced the growing frustration among court staff and lawyer and said: “As soon as we reached the court, we were told to evacuate. This happened two days ago also—it has became a daily ‘tamasha’. Clients travel long distances; lawyers and clerks lose entire days in the name of investigation. We spoke to the Patna SSP, who reached the court premises, but only got assurances. With the IT cell, cybercell, police and ATS probing the threats, no one has been caught yet, nor the motive found. If courts are not secure, what about the common man?”Another advocate, Vijay Kumar, said the court received 5-6 bomb threats within a few months. “It has become a nuisance. How can anyone work in such a situation?” he asked. A section of lawyers protested outside the court premises over the issue.