3 hotels in Bengaluru receive bomb threat emails
Three prominent hotels in Bengaluru received bomb threat emails on Thursday, following which police and bomb disposal teams were pressed into service. DCP South East Bengaluru CK Baba confirmed the incident stating "A bomb threat mail was sent to three reputed hotels, including The Oterra in the city." "We are investigating further about the person who sent this mail," Baba added.
Recent spate of bomb threats across India
This incident follows a recent surge of similar threats across the country. Just a day ago, the Delhi Police said the Ministry of Home Affairs office in Delhi's North Block received an email bomb threat at 3:30pm on Wednesday. On receiving the mail, a bomb disposal squad, along with fire tenders, was rushed to the spot. However, nothing suspicious was found. The North Block primarily houses the Ministry of Finance and the Home Ministry.
150 schools in Delhi-NCR received bomb threats
Over the last few weeks, a series of hoax bomb emails have been sent to schools, airports, hospitals, and jails in the national capital. The bomb threat emails received by over 150 schools in Delhi-NCR earlier this month are believed to have been sent from Budapest, Delhi Police officials said on Tuesday. The mail claimed that bombs had been planted on the school premises.
Bomb squad, police teams comb the area
Other cities receive bomb threats
In addition to Delhi bomb threat, other cities, including Gujarat, Jaipur, Uttar Pradesh, and Bengaluru, received bomb threats via email. In UP's Kanpur, at least 10 schools received similar emails. Before that, over 50 schools in Jaipur received similar emails, followed by eight schools in Bengaluru receiving emails threatening bomb blasts. However, all threats turned out to be hoaxes. Notably, these incidents are taking place amid strengthened security across the country in view of the Lok Sabha elections.
Government response to rising cybercrimes
In response to the increasing threats, the Centre has formed an inter-ministerial committee to address the surge in transnational organized cybercrimes originating from South East Asian nations like Cambodia. Rajesh Kumar, CEO of the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), revealed that these threatening messages were sent using VPNs (virtual private networks). He also stated that investigative agencies are collaborating with multiple countries to identify those responsible for these threats.
