Bomb scare in Shivamogga as evening papers get 'threat letters'

Police beefed up security and launched an operation to look for bombs after two evening papers said on Tuesday they had received letters that warned of bomb blasts at 10 places across Shivamogga.

 The papers, ‘Namma Nadu’ and ‘Shimoga Times’, received the letters by post in the morning. An anonymous writer introducing himself as a member of the Indian Muslim Federation (IMF) warned that bombs would explode at 10 public places, including the railway station, educational institutions, banks and bus terminals, before 8 pm on March 4 (Wednesday). 

The blasts are aimed at avenging the large-scale arrest of Muslims in the aftermath of the communal clashes that took place in Shivamogga on February 19, the letter stated. The writer accused the police of arresting “only Muslims” and said the community was angry over it. The letter is written in Kannada on a small white chit, police said. 

The management of both the papers handed over the letters to the Superintendent of Police, Karthik Reddy. Thereafter, police employed sniffer dog and bomb disposal squads across Shivamogga city to look for the bombs. The exercise will go on Wednesday too, a source in the police said. 

Reddy confirmed that the papers had received the letters. “As a precautionary measure, we have launched a search operation. It appears to be a hoax call. It must be a trick played by miscreants. 

“There has been no breakthrough as of now. People need not panic,” he told Deccan Herald by phone.