Bomb threat to Delhi hospitals: Authorities maintain calm amid concern

New Delhi: Eight hospitals in Delhi received bomb threats via email on Sunday bringing the hospital authorities on toes to ensure patients and staff do not panic.

Police received information regarding the threat from the Brurari Hospital at 3 pm, after which complaints came in from several other hospitals across the city and police teams were dispatched but 'nothing suspicious' has been found yet, officials said.

The MCD-run Hindu Rao Hospital is on a high alert with directions given to beef up security checks at night, a civic body statement said.

"The operation theatre, emergency, CCU and blood bank at the hospital are equipped for any adverse event. It is on a high alert for QRT activation. Hospital staff have also been asked to be vigilant," it read.

Speaking about the threats, an official at Burari Hospital stated, "At around 3 pm, we received an email regarding a bomb threat in the hospital. Subsequently, all safety measures were thoroughly checked, and everything was found stable. This was the first instance of such an email we received."

Similarly, doctor Rajat Jhamb from the GTB Hospital told PTI, "We received a bomb threat via email simultaneously with other hospitals, but there was no panic situation at the hospital."

The bomb threats were reported from the Burari Hospital, Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Bara Hindu Rao Hospital, Janakpuri Super Speciality Hospital, Deen Dayal Upadhyay, Dabri's Dada Dev Hospital and Aruna Asaf Ali Government Hospital in Civil Lines, a senior Delhi Fire Services official said.

Colonel Harish Chandra Sharma from the Janakpuri Super Speciality Hospital said, 'Things were under control, there was no panic or disturbances due to the threat. The hospital management handled it with full responsibility, so everything is fine.' MCD officials said that the administration of the Hindu Rao Hospital came to know about a bomb threat.

"The SHO of the area also received an email regarding the presence of a bomb in the premises of the hospital. The SHO inspected the whole premises with dog squad and bomb detection squad. No threat was found. Additional MS of Hindu Rao Hospital, nodal officer, exigency officer and security in-charge of the hospital took another round of hospital premises. Few openings were instructed to be closed," read the statement.

On May 1, more than 150 schools in Delhi-NCR received an identical threat email claiming that explosives had been planted on their premises, triggering massive evacuations and searches. The authorities later declared it a hoax.