Bomb threat: Four Odisha courts receive hoax mails; BJD demands NIA probe
Bhubaneswar (PTI): Panic gripped in four courts of Odisha on Friday after the authorities received bomb threat mails, which were later found to be hoax, a senior police officer said.
The district and sessions judge courts in Cuttack, Puri, Jajpur and Phulbani received emails where the sender threatened to explode bombs.
The security personnel launched searches by engaging bomb disposal squads and sniffer dogs for hours before the Odisha police called them a hoax.
The threatening emails came less than a month after similar communications were received by authorities of district courts in Cuttack, Deogarh and Sambalpur on January 8, police said.
Since two such incidents took place within less than a month, the opposition BJD demanded an NIA probe to trace the people involved in it.
“I am deeply concerned to learn about the bomb threat received by the district courts of Cuttack, Puri, Phulbani, and Jajpur once again. Just a few days ago, bomb threats were received by the district courts of Sambalpur, Cuttack, and Debagarh,” BJD president Naveen Patnaik said in a X post.
“However, it is astonishing that no one has been able to trace from where such emails are coming or who is involved in this matter, despite public discussions. The state government must not take such a sensitive incident lightly. The safety of judicial institutions, including judges, lawyers, litigants, court staff, and the general public, must not be jeopardised,” he said.
Patnaik appealed to people to remain calm, stay away from spreading rumors, and extend full cooperation to the security agencies.
BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty at a press conference alleged that such incidents during the President’s visit exposes security lapses in the state.
“We demanded a swift, accurate, and impartial investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into all these bomb threat cases,” Mohanty said adding that the people have completely lost faith in the government when it comes to the protection of their lives and property.
Odisha's Advocate General Pitambar Acharya appealed to all the members of the judicial fraternity not to panic over the incident and maintain calm.
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Delhi: Father, son held for killing 19-year-old woman in suspected honour killing
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has arrested a man and his son for allegedly murdering his 19-year-old daughter in west Delhi's Hari Nagar area, an official said on Friday.
The case first came to light on April 1 after a PCR call was received around 2 pm, alleging that a woman had been killed by her family members and her body was being taken for last rites, he said.
The accused, identified as Mohammad Maneer (55), a vegetable vendor, and his son Meraj Ali (19), were arrested in connection with the case, the officer said.
The victim had been in a relationship with a man from her native place for the past two years, which was opposed by her father, Maneer and brother Meraj, he said.
"When the girl did not end the relationship despite objections, the family killed her," the officer said.
On April 1, the police said that when their team reached the spot, they found that the woman's body was being taken for burial.
Acting on the input, the burial process was stopped over suspicion of honour killing.
"Police intercepted the family members and took possession of the body," he said.
Police said that the man who had made the PCR told them that the woman was in love with his cousin.
During the inquiry, police also interacted with the PCR caller, who said his cousin, a friend of the deceased, had informed him about the situation and suspected foul play, prompting him to alert the police control room.
The body of the woman was subsequently shifted to the mortuary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for preservation and postmortem.
Police said that both the crime team and the forensic science laboratory (FSL) team were called to inspect the scene and collect evidence.
Police said that, as per the postmortem report, the cause of death was identified as smothering, indicating that the woman was suffocated.
A preliminary inquiry also revealed that the family had initiated preparations for the last rites soon after the woman's death, raising suspicion about the circumstances.
Initial investigation pointed to the family's opposition to the woman's relationship.
"The family members of the woman saw her with the man, and she was taken back home. We got to know that she was beaten up and even locked inside the house for some days," a source said.
Further investigation into the matter is underway, police added.
