A bomb threat email targeting the mayor’s office and a residence linked to Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh triggered panic and a major security response in the city on Monday before police declared the threat a hoax after extensive searches found nothing suspicious.
The threatening email was reportedly sent to the municipal commissioner and several official government email IDs early Monday morning. Officials said the message was received around 7.28 am and warned of bomb blasts at the mayor’s office and at a Ludhiana residence associated with Diljit Dosanjh, though the singer does not currently reside there.
Following the alert, police teams along with dog squads and anti-sabotage units rushed to the Municipal Corporation Zone A office near Clock Tower. The building was evacuated and intensive searches were conducted across the premises, but officials said no suspicious object or explosive material was recovered.
The email allegedly mentioned specific timings for the attacks and also contained threats directed at Diljit Dosanjh. Officials said the message referred to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and used inflammatory language. The sender allegedly claimed responsibility in the name of Khalistan National Army.
Commissioner of police Swapan Sharma said the cyber crime wing in Mohali was assisting the Ludhiana police in tracing the sender and identifying the origin of the email.
“Diljit Dosanjh is originally from Dosanjh Kalan village in Jalandhar district. He moved to Ludhiana at the age of 11 to live with his maternal uncle. He studied at Guru Harkrishan Public School in Dugri,” Sharma said.
Diljit used to perform devotional kirtans during his teenage years before launching his debut album, Ishq Da Uda Ada, in Ludhiana in 2003-04.
Senior deputy mayor Rakesh Prashar said MC officials immediately alerted the police after receiving the threat email, following which security checks were conducted across the civic body office. “The emails were found to be a hoax as nothing suspicious was recovered from the MC premises or surrounding areas during the searches,” Prashar said.
The latest threat comes days after the house of Diljit Dosanjh’s manager, Gurpartap Singh Kang, was allegedly targeted in a firing incident at Gonder village in Karnal, Haryana.
Reacting to the incident, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring expressed concern over the repeated security threats in Punjab and alleged deterioration in law and order.
Warring said incidents such as repeated bomb threats, attacks on police personnel and other criminal activities had created an atmosphere of fear and insecurity in the state. He urged the Punjab government to take immediate steps to restore public confidence and strengthen security arrangements.
Police officials said this was the sixth such bomb threat incident reported in Ludhiana over the past five months. Despite repeated threats targeting schools, railway infrastructure, courts and government establishments, investigators have so far failed to trace the senders in previous cases.
On May 18, three schools in Ludhiana — Bal Bharti School in Dugri, DAV School and Sacred Heart Convent School in Sarabha Nagar — received bomb threat emails. The message had also mentioned targeting the parking area of Halwara airport.
Earlier, on April 23, five private schools in the city reportedly received threat emails in which the sender claimed to be associated with a Khalistani group and threatened to blow up railway tracks.
On March 11, at least 10 schools and the Ludhiana railway station received bomb threat emails, triggering city-wide security checks.
In January, the district and sessions judge in Ludhiana received emails warning of suicide attacks, leading to suspension of court proceedings and heightened security arrangements at the judicial complex on January 8 and 14.
