Bomb threats target over 20 hotels across three states amid high alert | VIDEO
Hotels bomb threat: Hotels across Kolkata, Tirupati, and Rajkot were targeted with identical email threats, echoing a recent wave of hoax threats impacting flights and airports during the festive season.
Hotels bomb threat: Over 20 hotels across Kolkata, Tirupati, and Rajkot were thrown into chaos on Saturday following bomb threats received via email. These threats prompted widespread security sweeps and evacuations, despite ultimately being declared hoaxes. The incident, occurring alongside Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to West Bengal, cited high-profile names and previous incidents, adding to the heightened tension.
Multiple hotels threatened simultaneously
Hotels across Kolkata, Tirupati, and Rajkot were targeted with identical email threats, echoing a recent wave of hoax threats impacting flights and airports during the festive season. In Kolkata alone, about 10 luxury hotels were threatened as emergency bomb squads conducted exhaustive searches but found no explosives. The email format closely resembled previous threats made to schools earlier this year. According to a police official, the messages came from an alias, “Reality Is Fake,” warning: “I have planted bombs on the grounds of your hotel. The bombs are hidden in black bags. They will detonate soon. You have little time to live. Evacuate.” Kolkata Police promptly informed central security agencies, especially given the series of recent threats involving flights.
Tirupati hotels face similar threats
In Tirupati, three hotels received bomb threat emails on Saturday, with a total of four hotels in the city having been targeted over the past two days. Although these threats also turned out to be hoaxes, they caused considerable concern as they followed a disturbing trend. The emails referenced Jaffer Sadiq, an alleged drug racket kingpin, as well as other high-profile figures such as Tamil Nadu Deputy CM Udayanidhi Stalin’s wife, Kiruthiga, and TN DGP Shankar Jiwal. A chilling message stated, “Afzal Guru will be re-born! Al-Badr!”—a reference to the 2001 Parliament attack convict executed in 2013. It also ominously claimed that Andhra CM N. Chandrababu Naidu’s car was wired with hotel “IEDs.”
Breaking:
— Yuvraj Singh Mann (@yuvnique) October 26, 2024
10 prominent hotels in #Rajkot, including Imperial Palace, Grand Regency and Hotel Sayaji, have received bomb threats via email.
Police are on high alert, with bomb and dog squads actively inspecting locations. Crime branch team is also deployed. @CP_RajkotCity… pic.twitter.com/1SoMG20xqB
Rajkot hotels receive bomb threats
Around 12:45 p.m. on Saturday, approximately 10 hotels in Rajkot received simultaneous emails signed by “Kan Din,” warning of impending explosions. Rajkot DCP Parthrajsinh Gohil confirmed that police teams conducted thorough searches across all locations, but no suspicious items were found.
The wave of hoax bomb threats has raised concerns about security preparedness during the festive season, as well as the need for enhanced digital surveillance to deter such incidents.
