Bomb threats across courts in Bengal disrupt judicial work

Kolkata: Judicial work was disrupted on Tuesday, as several courts in West Bengal received bomb threats, throwing security personnel into a tizzy and prompting search operations and evacuation in court premises, officials said.

The city sessions court, CJM (Bankshall) court and sub-divisional courts at Asansol and Durgapur in Paschim Bardhaman district received bomb threats over email in the morning, a senior police officer said.

However, no explosive material was found during the search operations in courts, he said.

The city sessions court and the CJM (Bankshall) court were vacated, and Kolkata Police bomb squad personnel accompanied by snifffer dogs checked the entire premises, the officer said.

Similar operations were carried out at other courts in the state.

Asked if the simultaneous bomb threats in courts were linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being carried out by judicial officers, CEO Manoj Agarwal said it was up to the state police to conduct an inquiry and find out the culprits.

"I think the police are already probing the bomb threats, and whether it is linked to any ongoing election-related exercise in the courts," Agarwal said.

Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty said a probe has been initiated to ascertain the source of the threat mails, and whether one individual or a group is involved.

Chakravorty, who was accompanied by DGP Piyush Pandey and Kolkata Commissioner of Police Supratim Sarkar, told reporters in the state secretariat that the West Bengal government is committed to provide security to judicial officers and others involved in the SIR process.