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Chennai, Oct 17 (IANS) Chennai Police on Friday received a bomb threat targeting Vice President CP Radhakrishnan’s residence in the city, which later turned out to be a hoax.
The city’s Estate police station received an email claiming that a bomb had been planted at the Vice President’s residence in Mylapore area.
Senior police officers, along with sniffer dog squads and bomb detection experts, were immediately mobilized in response to the high security alert.
Police sources confirmed that CP Radhakrishnan, who took over as Vice President in September this year, had vacated the Mylapore property a year ago.
He is currently living in a rented apartment in the high-profile Poes Garden area of Chennai.
Following VIP security threat protocols, the security team proceeded to the Poes Garden residence. However, upon arrival the premises were found to be locked, preventing bomb experts from conducting a physical search inside the apartment.
After initial inspection of the area and its surroundings, police suspected that the threat was possibly a hoax.
Authorities are now investigating the origin of the bomb threat email, which is the latest in a series of similar fake threats targeting high-profile individuals and establishments in Chennai.
Since July this year, more than 150 schools in Delhi and Bengaluru received fake emails containing bomb threats, leading to mass evacuation of schools and widespread panic among students and parents.
Several hospitals in both cities were also targeted in separate incidents.
Police said the threats began on July 18, when more than 100 schools, including several private institutions in the two cities, received similar emails warning of explosives being planted on their premises. Bomb squads and dog units were deployed, and classes were suspended in many places. However, no explosives were found.
According to officials, more than 150 such email threats have been registered in Delhi alone this year, while at least 25 have been reported in Bengaluru between July and August. Most of the messages were traced to servers located outside India and sent through encrypted email services.
The Home Ministry directed cyber crime units to strengthen coordination and identify those responsible. Officials said several suspects, including minors, are under investigation.
–IANS
SNJ/SVN