Hoax bomb threat causes temporary evacuation in Punjab and Haryana HC

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday received a bomb threat email, prompting the Chandigarh Police to get the court premises evacuated for a brief period and launch a search.

However, it later turned out to be a hoax, officials said.

The police personnel evacuated the court complex and restricted public entry for a few hours, they said.

A thorough search was conducted, but nothing suspicious was found, police said.

Normal work resumed in the court complex in the afternoon.

''An e-mail was sent to the registrar's office of the high court, claiming that an IED had been planted in the complex. On being informed, police launched a thorough search, but nothing suspicious was found,'' Chandigarh Police SDPO (Central), Udaypal Singh, told PTI.

Punjab and Haryana High Court bar association president Sartej Singh Narula said that court work resumed in the afternoon.

Earlier in the day, Narula told reporters that the court premises was evacuated soon after the bomb threat email was received.

Speaking to reporters outside the court when the police were conducting search in the court building complex, Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain said, ''We were inside the court for a hearing. In one of the courtrooms, the DGP and SSP of Chandigarh Police were also present in connection with a case. We were told that an e-mail had been received which threatened to blow up the court premises.'' ''Police teams along with a bomb disposal squad reached the site immediately,'' he added.

Chandigarh administration and the high court authorities coordinated and all necessary steps were initiated.

Asserting that there was no panic, Jain said, ''As soon as the message was received that courtrooms should be vacated, everyone cooperated.'' In a notice issued to all its members in the morning when the bomb threat email was received, the bar association said, ''It is for information of all the members of the bar that an alert regarding a bomb threat at the high court has been received.'' ''All members are requested to remain vigilant. If any suspicious or unattended items are found within the premises, please inform the office of the high court bar association immediately. The members are further requested to vacate the courtrooms immediately as a precautionary measure,'' the association added.

The notice had said that court proceedings would resume after 2 pm.

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