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Chennai, November 12 (IANS) Greater Chennai Police Commissioner A. Arun has revealed that since April this year, 342 bomb threats have been made targeting prominent establishments and prominent individuals across the city.
The investigation into these threats has now been formally handed over to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Tamil Nadu Police, the senior officer said in a statement on Wednesday.
The commissioner said that the police takes every threat seriously. “Nothing is taken lightly. Depending on the nature of the complaint, either the case is registered under FIR or registered in the Community Service Register (CSR),” he said.
According to senior police officers, the threats – mostly received through emails – followed similar patterns in phrasing and sentence structure, leading investigators to suspect that an individual or a small group could be behind them.
“Most of these fake messages are sent using the TOR browser or VPN to hide the sender’s IP address. However, for all practical purposes, the messages may be originating from within the city itself,” a senior official said.
Police sources said Chennai City Police is coordinating with central agencies as similar threats have been reported from several other major cities across India. In some cases, the threats have been traced to mentally disturbed individuals or minors who were released on bail after receiving strict warnings. However, the police have taken strict action in serious cases.
Last month, a physically disabled man was arrested for sending a false bomb threat to the Chief Minister’s residence. Investigation revealed that he was a repeat offender, who had previously been booked for a similar crime.
Following false threats to target foreign consulates in Chennai, Commissioner Arun held meetings with embassy representatives to brief them about the steps taken and reassure them about the city’s security preparedness.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the recent blasts in Delhi, Chennai City Police has intensified vehicle checking at major junctions from Monday night. Commissioner Arun said, “There is no specific threat to Chennai, but we are maintaining strict vigilance without creating unnecessary panic.”
–IANS
AL/DPB