Bomb threat email names Bombay High Court, BSE, Worli Racecourse and Bachchan's Jalsa

Mumbai has received another bomb threat, this time by email, and security agencies in the city have been put on alert. The message warns that some of the city's most important places will be blown up, and the Bombay High Court is at the top of the list. Panic was reported on the High Court premises, and an investigation has begun.

The email does not stop at the court. It names four places in all: the High Court, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Worli Racecourse, and 'Jalsa', the well-known Juhu bungalow of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan. One of the filings refers to the racecourse as the Mahalaxmi Racecourse, so the same venue appears to be meant under two names. Agencies have taken the matter seriously because a court, a financial institution and the home of a famous actor are all mentioned in one message.

Police are now trying to establish who sent the email, who is behind it and what the motive was. Necessary precautions are being taken for the security of each place named. No official details have come out so far.

The mention of Bachchan's house has drawn particular attention. He has two well-known bungalows in Mumbai, Jalsa and Prateeksha, and a threat to blow up his home has been reported before. The new email has revived questions about security there.

On October 23, an email threatening a blast at Bachchan's bungalow was received as well. That message was said to have been sent to a school in the Bandra-Kurla Complex area, and the agencies concerned investigated it.

Mumbai has seen other such warnings. The office of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation received a threatening email, and police who searched the premises found nothing suspicious.

Another email, received by the Mumbai Press Club on March 20, also caused a major stir. It claimed that 42 devices containing poisonous gas had been placed in the Press Club building and would go off at 1 pm. According to preliminary information, that message was sent under the name "Neeraj Ajmal Khan". It also made claims about the Muslim community of Coimbatore, the political situation in Tamil Nadu and the DMK party. It has not been made clear whether that older case has any link to the present threat.

Concern is being voiced over security in a large city like Mumbai, where threats keep arriving against a court, financial institutions and the homes of well-known people. Police now need to verify the truth of every such email and take timely steps to avert any possible danger.

For now, the email concerning the High Court, the BSE, the racecourse and Jalsa remains under investigation. The sender's identity, the reason behind the threat and other aspects of the case are being traced. The repeated emails have again raised the question of Mumbai's security, and only further action by the investigating agencies will show what the threat actually amounts to.