Garhwal Post Bureau
Haldwani, 24 Feb: Even as the investigation into bomb threat emails sent earlier to the Uttarakhand High Court and several district and sessions courts in the state continues, a fresh threat has now been issued to Kumaon’s largest government hospital, Sushila Tiwari Hospital in Haldwani. The latest threatening email has been sent to the official email ID of the Principal of the medical college attached to the hospital, triggering alarm within the Health Department and the district police administration.
The situation created panic among district police authorities and the Health Department after the email was received, claiming the presence of explosives within the hospital premises. As soon as the contents of the email were revealed, the hospital administration immediately informed the Police.
Acting swiftly, Haldwani Police, along with the Bomb Disposal Squad and the Dog Squad, reached the spot and launched an intensive search operation. A thorough combing of the entire hospital campus was carried out to rule out any potential threat.
As a precautionary measure, additional police force has been deployed within and around the hospital premises to ensure the safety of patients, attendants and staff. The medical college administration has temporarily suspended classes until the situation normalises and has advised the students not to enter the campus unnecessarily. Hospital services, however, are being maintained under strict security vigil so that patient care is not adversely affected.
It may be recalled that, in recent days, similar threatening emails have been sent to the Uttarakhand High Court as well as several district and sessions courts across the state. In those cases, the Police Cyber Cell has been engaged in tracing the source of the emails and identifying the unknown accused, but so far no breakthrough has been officially confirmed. The continuing series of threats has heightened concerns among security agencies and prompted enhanced surveillance of key public institutions.
Circle Officer Amit Kumar Saini stated that information was received regarding a bomb threat email on the medical college’s official email ID. Following this, Kotwali police, the Bomb Disposal Squad and the Dog Squad launched an extensive checking operation on the premises. He confirmed that, till the filing of this report, no suspicious object had been recovered from the campus. Authorities have indicated that further investigation, including cyber forensic analysis of the email’s origin, is underway.
