Satara district court evacuated after bomb threat email to Chief Justice; search finds nothing reported

The Satara district court building received a threat to be blown up with a bomb on Monday, causing a flurry of activity in the district police. The email was sent directly to the official email address of the Chief Justice. It warned that a bomb blast would be carried out in the court at 3.15 pm.

The email is said to have been received at around 11.30 am on Monday. Court administration immediately informed Superintendent of Police Nikhil Pingle. The police department then swung into action at once. Along with the Superintendent of Police, Vishwajeet Ghodke of the Local Crime Branch, Sachin Metre, inspector of the Satara city police station, and Jay Gaikwad, inspector of the cyber department, reached the court with a bomb squad and a heavy police force.

Given the seriousness of the matter, court administration ordered the entire building to be vacated immediately. Judges, lawyers, litigants and members of the public were taken out, causing a sudden rush in the court premises.

At the time, routine work was under way in the various courtrooms. Important hearings were being held in some, while chapter cases were being heard in other courts. As soon as the order to vacate came, all work was halted. When judges, lawyers and litigants came out together, a large crowd gathered on the premises. The commotion also affected traffic on the Satara-Koregaon road.

Meanwhile, the bomb squad, using bomb detectors, searched every floor, all rooms and the entire premises of the court closely for about an hour and a half. As a precaution, tight police arrangements were put in place across the area.

Since the threat was sent directly to the Chief Justice, police have taken the investigation seriously. Cyber police are trying to establish where the email was sent from, who is behind it and what the motive for the threat was. The investigating agency is focused on tracing the IP address of the email. For the sake of the investigation, police declined to give further information.

The incident left an atmosphere of fear and confusion for a while, not only among those connected with the court but also in Satara city.