Panic gripped Swasthya Bhavan on Monday afternoon, the headquarter of West Bengal’s Health Department, after a hoax email warned of an impending IED explosion. The email, received by the Deputy Director of Health Services, claimed that explosives had been planted in the building and that it would be blown up. Upon receiving the threat, Bidhannagar Police rushed to the scene and launched a full-scale search operation.
Sources confirmed that at least four such threat mails were received, prompting a rapid and serious response from security agencies. The entire premises of Swasthya Bhavan was cordoned off and a comprehensive sweep of the building was conducted. However, no IED was spotted after the search.
While initial assessments suggested the email was a hoax one — possibly sent to harass authorities — police are treating the threat with utmost seriousness in the backdrop of the ongoing stir by teachers who became jobless by a Supreme Court verdict in a recruitment scam case.
The cyber wing of Bidhannagar Police has joined the investigation to trace the origin of the emails. They are also examining whether similar threatening messages were received by other departments or institutions.
Authorities are also exploring the possibility of a foreign link to the threat. In recent months, cyber intelligence agencies have flagged attempts by Pakistani and Chinese hackers to carry out cyberattacks on Indian infrastructure and institutions. There is now speculation that the Swasthya Bhavan email may have originated from compromised Indian email IDs, possibly hacked by foreign elements. However, officials also noted that the language and tone of the threat seem more local than foreign, hinting at a domestic mischief-maker seeking attention or trying to disrupt public operations.
This incident comes on the heels of similar recent scares. In April, a bomb threat was sent to the Indian Museum in Kolkata, prompting the New Market Police and bomb squad to evacuate and search the entire premises— nothing was found. Following that, four city schools also received bomb threats via email, all of which turned out to be false alarms.
The repeated pattern of such threats has put security agencies on high alert. While no explosives have been found in any of the previous cases, the police continue to treat every alert as credible until proven otherwise. Investigations are ongoing to identify and bring to justice those responsible for creating public panic through such fake threats.
Follow us
