A number of hoax bomb threats were issued via email and phone calls late Sunday, November16, to various prominent personalities and institutions across Chennai city, including the residences of the Chief Minister MK Stalin and actor Ajith Kumar, according to reports. An email threat was also sent to the Director General of Police (DGP), prompting immediate searches across all locations.
It all began with an email to the DGP from the address kamakshi_selvaganesh@mail2tor.email claiming a bomb had been planted in the Chief Minister’s residence.
Soon after, multiple bomb threats were issued to the residences of actor Rajinikanth, actor-director KS Ravikumar, former Union minister MK Alagari in Madurai, actress Sneha, music director Anirudh, director Thankar Bachan, actress Vadivukarasi, Dr Kalai Kathiravan, a property associated with Dr Ayyappan of BSS Hospital, Ajith Kumar and Chitra Lakshman. Additionally, Chennai One IT Park, the Mylapore Sai Baba Temple, PSBB School, and the IIT Madras campus also received these emails.
It has been confirmed that every location inspected by the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) was free from any threat and that all emails were hoaxes. All the searches yielded the same outcome with no explosives or suspicious substances retrieved.
Officers probing the matter identified a similar pattern of untraceable channels to that of earlier such hoax threats.
With the cybercrime wing taking charge of the inquiry, efforts are underway to track down the origin of the emails and calls. The state police have also heightened security at sensitive locations as a precautionary measure.
Also read: A nation on alert: How hoax bomb calls are wearing out India’s cops