Ferozepur, 12 September (H.S.): Panic spread at the Ferozepur District Courts Complex on Saturday morning after a bomb threat was received on the court’s official email. Acting swiftly as a precautionary measure, police evacuated the premises and stopped the entry of visitors while security teams carried out a detailed search.

The threat was received on a day when the National Lok Adalat was scheduled to be held at the court complex. Although preparations for the event had been completed, the programme was affected following the security alert. Court proceedings remained suspended till 11.30 am as the premises were thoroughly checked.

SP Dalbir Singh, DSP (D) Barjinder Singh, DSP (Rural) Karan Sharma and other senior police officers reached the spot after receiving information about the threat. A dog squad and bomb disposal team were deployed to search the courtrooms, offices, corridors and other parts of the complex. However, no suspicious object was found during the search.

SP Dalbir Singh said the entire complex had been thoroughly checked and nothing suspicious had been recovered so far. He said the threat was being taken seriously and the police were investigating the matter from all possible angles. Technical teams were also working to trace the source of the threatening email.

The incident has caused concern among lawyers, judicial officials and visitors as the Ferozepur District Courts Complex has received similar threats several times in recent months.

According to officials, this was the fifth bomb threat received by the court complex in around nine months. Earlier, threatening emails were received on January 8, April 6, August 12 and August 26.

Police are now working to identify the person behind the latest email and determine whether the previous threats were also sent by the same source.

Hindusthan Samachar / GURSHARAN SINGH