Back-to-back bomb threat emails sent to senior judges triggered panic across at least five courts in West Bengal, including the City Sessions Court, claiming IEDs were planted and could explode anytime, prompting police alerts.
KOLKATA: Back-to-back emails warning of bomb explosions, sent to senior judges, rattled at least five courts across Bengal, including one in Calcutta, while many judicial officers were heavily engaged in the ongoing SIR process.
A source reported that the first email arrived at the official account of the district judge of West Burdwan in Asansol. Soon after, several courts including the City Sessions Court in Calcutta (Bankshall Court) informed their local police stations about similar messages.
Another district judge’s court in Durgapur, the district judge’s court in Chinsurah (Hooghly), and the district judge’s court in Berhampore (Murshidabad) also received threat emails. The messages claimed IED-type bombs had been placed on court premises and could detonate at any moment.
Police stations promptly notified their superiors, and large teams along with bomb-squad units were dispatched to inspect the sites for explosives. Most courts were cleared by the presiding judges, and legal proceedings were suspended for over an hour until officers confirmed there were no explosives inside or outside the courtrooms.
Debaprasad Nath, the district judge of West Burdwan, told journalists,
“The mail was likely a hoax. I ordered the court to be vacated purely as a safety measure.”
A police source said the emails had similar wording and appeared to originate from Tamil Nadu, though investigators said they could not confirm the origin until IP addresses were traced through a formal probe.
A Senior police officer said,
“We have to cross-check and verify the IP address to ascertain where it was generated. Police have already started a probe to trace the origin of the emails,”
Most senior judges, including district judges, are participating in the SIR process following a Supreme Court directive. Some insiders suspect the emails were intended to alarm those judicial officers for vested interests.
Bengal chief electoral officer Manoj Agarwal said the state must ensure the safety and security of judges involved in the SIR process. Chief secretary Nandini Chakraborty, speaking at a press conference in Nabanna, asserted that the Bengal government has been actively working to protect them.
Political parties offered differing interpretations of the incidents. BJP leader and Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari blamed Bangladeshi outfits such as Jamaat-e-Islami and demanded an NIA investigation, alleging that those seeking to preserve names of infiltrators on electoral rolls could be behind the threats.
Adhikari Said,
“I think militant outfits from Bangladesh are involved in this threat mail, and those who want to keep Jamaat elements and Bangladeshi infiltrators in the electoral rolls in this state may be behind it. I demand that the NIA intervene in this incident,”
Trinamool spokesperson Arup Chakraborty countered that a proper investigation would point to the BJP’s role in creating fear among judicial officers.
Chakraborty Said ,
“Recently, two BJP workers were caught by local people for planting bombs on the railway tracks at the Nimtita railway station in Murshidabad. If a thorough investigation is conducted, the BJP’s involvement may also be found here,”
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