Bomb threats sent to Gujarat assembly, 23 Ahmedabad schools

Gandhinagar/Ahmedabad: Panic gripped parts of Gujarat on Wednesday after a threat mail warning of bomb blasts at the Gujarat legislative assembly, multiple schools in Ahmedabad, and a possible missile strike on LPG tankers at ports in Kutch led to a large-scale security response.The Gujarat assembly complex received a bomb threat via email on Wednesday morning during the ongoing budget session, but it turned out to be a hoax after a thorough check of the premises, police said.The threat mail, allegedly sent by a Khalistani extremist outfit, prompted immediate evacuation of the assembly premises. Police teams, along with bomb and dog squads, rushed to the spot and carried out an extensive search operation. All MLAs and ministers were moved out as a precaution. After no suspicious object was found, proceedings of the House began at 10am instead of the scheduled 9am.Simultaneously, at least 23 schools in Ahmedabad — 19 in city and four in rural — received similar emails warning of blasts during school hours. The threats caused disruption on the last day of board exams, with students being held outside campuses. At a school in Vejalpur, the Class 10 exam was postponed by nearly an hour, while at another in Ghatlodia, staff were evacuated and seen checking answer sheets in the open ground.The threat email, written in Punjabi and English, contained references to political leaders and warned of explosions at schools around 1.11pm, the Assembly at 2.11pm, and LPG tanker attacks at ports in Kutch between 3.11pm and 9.11pm. It also mentioned a deadline linked to March 25, when the ongoing budget session is scheduled to conclude.Senior officials, including Gandhinagar SP Ravi Teja Vasamsetty and DGP K L N Rao, rushed to the assembly to oversee security arrangements. A high-level meeting was also held to assess the situation. Speaking on the incident, DGP Rao said, "For the past couple of months, many states and cities in the country have received bomb threats from different senders. Recently, police arrested a man from West Bengal who sold the email IDs which were used in sending threats. Today, one such mail was received at the state assembly, after which proper SOPs were followed. Bomb and dog squads checked the entire assembly thoroughly and did not find any suspicious thing. Gujarat police is capable of tackling this situation, and whoever sent this threat will be caught."On the pattern of threats, he added, "We have some limitations and we have been working with central agencies on these threats." He further said the email appeared to be sent by an alleged Khalistani outfit and that Gandhinagar police would probe the matter while reviewing assembly security protocols.Gandhinagar SP Vasamsetty said, "Police teams have started working to trace the source of the email." He said police have begun investigation and legal action will be initiated, while efforts are on to trace the origin of the email and examine links with previous such threats.Security has been tightened across key installations, and cyber teams are working to identify the sender.