Hoax bomb threats: Coimbatore City Police, ATS probe under way

With government and private establishments in Coimbatore increasingly becoming targets of bomb threats, the police are determined to uncover the disturbing trend.

Sources in Coimbatore City Police said that the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) was also investigating cases related to email bomb threats..

They added that the Chennai unit of the ATS was handling these cases as part of a State-wide hunt for persons involved in making hoax threats across Tamil Nadu.

Coimbatore collectorate alone received nearly 30 hoax email bomb threats in the recent past, leaving scary working hours for hundreds of staff employed in various sections. The office received three threats on a single day recently.

An official employed at the collectorate said the persons involved in the hoax threats caused fear among the staff and public significantly.

City Police sources said that the bomb detection and disposal squad (BDDS) of the Coimbatore City Police also had a tough time in carrying out multiple searches at the same locations, including the combined court complex and airport, before dismissing those emails as hoax threats.

They added that the BDDS, however, takes each threat without bias and carries out searches swiftly to rule out the threat and instil confidence among the public.

City Police Commissioner N. Kannan said the police have shared details of the bomb threat cases to the ATS and the city police were carrying out their own investigation.