Bomb threats at 3 SDM offices in Delhi turn out to be hoax
New Delhi, Apr 21 (PTI): Bomb threats were received at the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) offices in Delhi’s Kapashera, Dwarka, and Najafgarh on Monday, which later turned out to be hoax, an official said.
According to police, two threat emails were received on the official IDs of SDM Dwarka and SDM Najafgarh on Monday morning, claiming bombs had been planted at the respective office buildings. A similar alert was also received at the Kapashera SDM office and was registered at the Kapashera police station.
Upon receiving the alerts, police teams reached the locations and evacuated the offices. "Staff and members of the public were moved to safety as a precaution. The buildings were cordoned off and secured," a senior police officer said.
The Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) and Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams were deployed, along with sniffer dogs and advanced bomb detection equipment, to carry out thorough checks of the premises.
"All the buildings were checked manually and with technical support, but no explosives or any suspicious substance were found," the officer added.
After completing checks at the SDM offices in Dwarka and Kapashera, the BDS team proceeded to the Najafgarh SDM office and conducted a similar search operation, which also yielded no suspicious material.
Police said an investigation has been initiated to trace the origin of the emails and identify the persons responsible for issuing the threats. Cyber units have been roped in to track the digital footprints of the email sender.
The incident caused a temporary disruption in public services at the SDM offices. However, normal functioning resumed after clearance from the bomb squads.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
