Chandigarh: Two days on, FIR lodged in bomb hoax at high court case
The FIR has been lodged under Section 351(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66(F) of the IT Act against unknown persons at the Sector 3 police station in Chandigarh
Two days after a high-alert security situation unfolded at the Punjab and Haryana high court due to a threatening email warning of multiple RDX-based improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted on the court premises, Chandigarh Police registered an FIR for cyber terrorism and criminal intimidation on Saturday.
Lodged under Section 351(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66(F) of the IT Act against unknown persons at the Sector 3 police station, the FIR narrated that inspector Narinder Singh, station house officer of the said police station, received an alert from the Chandigarh Police Control Room around 11.01 am on Thursday regarding a possible bomb threat in the court’s complex. The email, received at 9.44 am by the coordination branch of the high court, had originally been sent from ID singer_kovan@hotmail.com, claiming that six critical IEDs had been planted and were timed to explode at 3.15 pm.
As per police, the IP address was traced to France, and the email ID was created in the United States.
The subject line of the email read: “6 Critical RDX IEDs Placed in Punjab HC Tiruvallur Collectorate – Evacuate All by 3:15 PM | Eelam plus Dravida Nadu”.
The email alleged a coordinated plan to assassinate Tamil Nadu leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami and target judicial and administrative officers investigating a high-profile narcotics and corruption nexus involving Kollywood celebrities, rogue IPS officers, and international surveillance tools such as RC-S Galileo, allegedly procured through Italian company Hacking Team.
The email appeared to be authored by a person identifying himself as Singer Kovan, alias S Sivadas. The sender also urged authorities to coordinate with NSG, NIA, and IB and suspend all digital systems to avoid a potential cyber-triggered detonation. “Similar emails have been reported from Tamil Nadu and other parts of the country. It appears that the sender intended to create panic through a fabricated bomb threat. The identities mentioned in the email have no known connection to the high court and seem to have been included deliberately to sensationalise the message,” said a senior police officer involved in the investigation.
