Bomb threats to TN ministers, celebrities declared hoax; searches in Trichy and Chennai

Trichy/Chennai: Bomb threats emailed to the residences of three Tamil Nadu ministers and a few public personalities, including actress Ramya Krishnan and singer Chinmayi, triggered extensive security checks in Chennai and Trichy on Wednesday. All the threats were later confirmed to be hoaxes.

Police said the emails, received at the state police headquarters and the Trichy city police commissioner's office, claimed that bombs had been planted at the residences and offices of municipal administration minister K N Nehru, school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, and Hindu religious and charitable endowments minister P K Sekar Babu.


In Trichy, police and Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) teams conducted searches at Nehru's residence in Thillai Nagar and his office in Sastri Nagar, as well as at Anbil Mahesh's residence in Anna Nagar and the DMK south district office in Sathiram V N Nagar. A separate bomb threat was also reported at St Joseph's College near Chathiram bus stand, but no explosives were found.

In Chennai, BDDS teams led by Otteri inspector Ramesh searched the homes of the ministers, former chief secretary Girija Vaidyanathan, BJP functionary Amar Prasad Reddy, and the residences of actress Ramya Krishnan and singer Chinmayi. After thorough checks, police confirmed that all the threats were false alarms.