Bomb threat emails sent to Mumbai Mayor's office, Amitabh Bachchan's Juhu home and schools; high alert issued

A high alert was issued in parts of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai on Friday after an email threatening a bomb attack was sent to the Mumbai Mayor's office, actor Amitabh Bachchan's house in Juhu and the venue of singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh's concert. According to officials, the same threatening emails were also sent to several schools.

Officials said the email was received at around 11.31 am. It warned of attacks on the Mayor's office, Bachchan's house and the Mahalaxmi Racecourse, where Dosanjh is due to perform on November 27. The sender threatened a grenade attack on October 31 and a blast at the concert venue.

After the threat, Mumbai Police searched the office of Mayor Ritu Tawde. Nothing suspicious was found. Instructions have been issued to tighten security further at the municipal corporation headquarters, the racecourse and educational institutions.

In Navi Mumbai, panic spread among parents after the threat reached the campus of VIBGYOR High School. As a precaution, a search was carried out, classes were stopped and children were sent home. At Airoli, children were let off early. Several VIBGYOR branches in Navi Mumbai, including Airoli, Belapur and Kharghar, were put on alert. In a notice to parents, the school management said officials were inspecting the school premises. Parents were asked to collect their children from the school ground. Buses ran under police watch.

A formal complaint has been registered at Rabale police station. Senior Police Inspector Balkrishna Sawant said: "As soon as the alert was received, police teams reached the school immediately and helped send the children home early. We are investigating where the email was sent from and by whom."

Arun Pawar, Senior Police Inspector at Belapur police station, confirmed that the threat was not limited to Airoli. Pawar said: "Bomb threat emails were sent to the VIBGYOR schools in Belapur and Kharghar as well as the Airoli branch. We carried out a thorough check of the entire premises and found nothing suspicious. Our teams are investigating to find out who sent these emails."

High Court lawyer Nilofer Sheikh, whose daughter studies at a school in Koparkhairane, said the incident caused panic in parents' groups in the area. She said: "Parents were very upset on hearing the news of the threat to the VIBGYOR schools." She added that other schools in the area had not reported receiving any such message.

DCP (Zone 1) Manish Kalwania said: "Such hoax threats have now become a recurring pattern. The Mayor has received three such emails in the past few months. Both the Mumbai Crime Branch and the cyber police are working to trace the source of this message."