Daijiworld Media Network - Chennai

Chennai, Oct 17: A bomb threat email received by Chennai Police on friday claiming explosives had been planted at Vice President C P Radhakrishnan’s residence in the Mylapore area triggered a high-level security response, but was ultimately declared a hoax. The alert prompted immediate action from senior officers, bomb disposal squads, and sniffer dog units, though authorities later discovered that Radhakrishnan had vacated the Mylapore property more than a year ago. He now resides in a rented apartment in Chennai’s upscale Poes Garden locality.

Following standard protocol for threats involving high-ranking officials, police shifted focus to the Poes Garden residence, but found the premises locked, preventing a full search. A preliminary inspection of the surrounding area revealed no suspicious activity, leading officials to suspect the threat was not credible. Investigators are now tracing the source of the email, which appears to be part of a broader wave of hoax threats targeting high-profile individuals and institutions across major Indian cities.

Since July, over 150 schools in Delhi and Bengaluru have received similar bomb threat emails, resulting in widespread evacuations, panic, and temporary closures. Several hospitals in both cities were also affected by such false alarms. The spate of threats began on July 18, when a large number of schools were sent identical messages warning of planted explosives. Though all turned out to be hoaxes, they triggered large-scale deployments of bomb detection teams and caused significant disruption.

Officials report that most of these emails originated from servers outside India and were routed through encrypted platforms, complicating the investigation. The Ministry of Home Affairs has since ordered cybercrime units to ramp up coordination and pursue those responsible. Several suspects, including minors, are currently under investigation in connection with these incidents.