The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on June 10 received an email threatening a bomb blast at the mayor’s office in the civic headquarters, prompting evacuation of the building and a search of the premises, officials said.
The email also threatened blasts at the Vidhan Bhavan and the RSS headquarters in Nagpur.
Following the threat, the Pune civic administration cleared its entire main building as a precautionary measure and launched a search operation with the assistance of the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS), officials said.
The email, purportedly sent by a group identifying itself as the Khalistan National Army, threatened a series of IED blasts at the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) mayor’s office at 1.11 pm, the Vidhan Bhavan at 3.11 pm, and the RSS headquarters in Nagpur at 3.11 pm, police and civic officials said.
The email claimed that the RSS had supported the 1984 Operation Bluestar and Operation Woodrose, and called for “badla” (revenge) along with the “end” of the BJP and the RSS, they said.
The message listed the senders as Eng. Guranakh Singh, Rukan Shahwala and Dr Gurmirvair Singh of the Khalistan National Army.
“The PMC’s main office and the mayor’s office received the email threatening a bomb blast. The entire main building has been evacuated, and a thorough search is being carried out by the bomb detection squad,” a civic official said.
The building will remain closed to employees and visitors until the search operation is completed and security agencies declare the premises safe. Entry to the PMC premises has been prohibited till further orders, the official said.
Shivajinagar police station inspector Girish Dighavkar said a search operation was underway to check for any suspicious objects, and the threat email was being examined.
Similarly, the office of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in Gandhinagar, the AMC headquarters and the RSS office in Ahmedabad also received bomb threats allegedly sent in the name of the Khalistan National Army.
Director General of Police G S Malik, who is also in charge as police commissioner of Ahmedabad city, said investigators are probing the origin of the email. “VPN has been used for sending this email and the internet traffic was routed through the United States.
Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad police are currently looking into this matter,” Malik told mediapersons. With CM Bhupendra Patel and deputy CM Harsh Sanghavi in Delhi for the NDA meeting, the Swarnim Sankul – 1 complex in Gandhinagar was evacuated and searched by police, bomb detection and disposal squad personnel and fire department personnel.
