Patna: An alleged bomb threat targeting the CM’s official residence, office and the state secretariat triggered a high-security alert in Patna on Tuesday amid the ongoing monsoon session of the Bihar legislature.According to officials, an anonymous email sent to the Chief Minister’s Secretariat at 7.57am warned of two explosions in the city. The sender claimed that a bomb would explode at the Patna Secretariat at 3.11pm on July 21, followed by another blast at the CM’s office and official residence at 9.11pm the same day.The email also contained pro-Khalistan slogans and referred to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. It alleged that former Indian high commissioner to Canada was responsible for Nijjar’s killing and was being sheltered in Patna. The email threatened to kill the former diplomat in a “human bomb blast”.Nijjar was a Canadian Sikh activist associated with the Khalistan movement. India had designated him a terrorist and accused him of links with the banned Khalistan Tiger Force. He was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023.The message claimed that “the whole of Patna will speak Khalistan” and was purportedly signed in the name of the “Khalistan National Army”, along with the names of several individuals.Officials said the authenticity of the claims had not been verified and the contents were being treated as part of the threat message.Following the alert, Patna Police and senior headquarters officials stepped up security at key govt establishments. Bomb detection and disposal squads, along with dog squads, carried out extensive searches of the premises, but nothing suspicious was found.City superintendent of police (Central) Mamta Kalyani confirmed that the Chief Minister’s Secretariat had lodged a complaint. She said police had launched an investigation to identify the sender.Referring to similar threats received earlier in the day, Mamta said bomb threat emails had also been sent to four schools in the Danapur area. She added that such messages were being taken seriously.On a recent threat targeting Sardar Patel Bhawan, Mamta said an accused had been arrested in Rajasthan. “More information will be shared, once the team will brought him on transit remand to Patna and interrogate him,” she said.Cyber experts are tracing the origin of the email. No suspicious object was recovered during the searches.
