Bomb threats trigger evacuations at four Rajasthan collectorates

Jaipur, May 20 (IANS) Rajasthan's administrative machinery went on high alert on Tuesday after collectorates in Sikar, Pali, Bhilwara and Dausa received email threats claiming explosives had been planted on their premises.

The threat reached Sikar Collectorate minutes before a scheduled meeting to be chaired by the Chief Secretary.

Officers evacuated the building and moved the meeting to the Police Lines auditorium.

Police, administrative officials and a bomb-detection squad are sweeping the complex, while security has been tightened across the district.

A similar email landed in the Pali District Collector's inbox, warning that a bomb would "blow up the premises".

Police immediately cleared the building and summoned bomb-disposal and dog squads from Jodhpur. The area remains cordoned off.

The Bhilwara Collectorate received the same type of threat. The administration evacuated staff, barred public entry and called in a bomb squad from Ajmer.

A high-alert order is now in place across the district.

In Dausa, Collector Devendra Kumar alerted Superintendent of Police Sagar Rana after his office got an identical email.

Civil-defence teams and police combed the premises "inch by inch", officials said, while employees waited outside.

Cyber-crime units in all four districts are tracing the origin of the emails, but no sender has yet been identified.

Police officials said they are treating the incident seriously, noting that previous bomb hoaxes have disrupted government offices in the state.

Authorities have urged the public to avoid the affected collectorates until security checks are complete.

On May 14, Jaipur's Sawai Mansingh Stadium received a bomb threat.

The threat email, sent to the official ID of the Rajasthan Sports Council, carried the subject line 'HMX Bomb Blast Sawai Mansingh Stadium Operation Prabhakar Divij' and included a chilling message warning, "Don't mess with Pakistan. We have sleeper cells in India. Your hospitals will also be blown up for Operation Sindoor."

--IANS

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