Nagpur district court evacuated after emailed bomb threat; two-hour search finds nothing

The Nagpur District and Sessions Court received a threat on Monday afternoon that it would be blown up with a bomb, causing panic on the premises. The threat was sent by email in the name of a Khalistani organisation and warned that district courts in the state would be blown up.

The message arrived at the court's official email ID at around 1.30 pm. Invoking Khalistan, it said the court would be blown up in a bomb blast at 3.15 pm. It also carried a threat reading "Dhamake se bachna, marega Diljeet" (Avoid the blast, Diljeet will die).

The court administration informed the police as soon as the email was received. Sadar police, the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS), the dog squad and other police teams then reached the spot and cordoned off the premises. The court building was evacuated as a precaution.

Judges, lawyers and staff were moved to a safe place. The premises were then searched thoroughly. The search operation, which lasted about two hours, found no suspicious object. Court work was affected during this period, and there was an atmosphere of fear among those on the premises.

This is not the first time the Nagpur District Court has received such a threat. On December 19 last year, a message sent to the official email of the District and Sessions Judge said RDX had been placed in the court building and that it would be detonated by 2 pm.

Then, on August 19, the Nagpur District Court, along with schools in the city, received a threat to be blown up together. That email too was sent in the name of a Khalistani organisation.

District Bar Association (DBA) president Advocate Prakash Jaiswal said that as soon as the administration informed them of the emailed threat, lawyers were immediately asked to come out of the building. He said fear had gripped the lawyers during this time. The DBA coordinated with the police administration and appealed to all lawyers to cooperate with the administration.