Uttarakhand Courts on High Alert After Bomb Threat Emails Target Judiciary

In an official statement, the PHQ said, "Additional instructions have been issued to further strengthen and make the security of court premises more robust and foolproof, with directions for strict compliance."

It further read, "PHQ has directed that adequate police and PAC personnel, equipped with necessary security gear, be deployed at all court complexes in their respective districts. Authorities have also been instructed to coordinate with concerned officials to ensure entry and exit through identity verification at court gates, so that no unauthorised person can access court premises."

Elaborating on enhanced measures, the PHQ added, "The Police Headquarters has ordered the installation of barriers for access control, along with strengthened screening arrangements at entry points for individuals visiting courts. For this purpose, local intelligence units and additional police personnel are to be deployed."

Highlighting the nature of the threat perception, the PHQ stated, "Keeping in view potential threats such as terrorist incidents and bomb attacks, district police chiefs have been directed to deploy Quick Response Teams (QRT) and, wherever possible, teams from the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) at court complexes."

Several courts in Uttarakhand, including the High Court and District Judge Courts in multiple districts, have received bomb threat emails over the past few days.

Confirming the development, IG Kumaon Riddhim Agarwal on Thursday said that police have traced several IP addresses linked to the threat emails, with many originating from outside the country.

She said, "Today, a threat mail was received by the High Court in Uttarakhand and similar threat mails were sent to District Judge Courts in various districts over the past few days. Be it Uttarkashi, Dehradun, Haridwar, Champawat, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, or Almora, our STF teams are working alongside central government agencies to trace the IP addresses."

Agarwal added, "We are working to trace the IP addresses of all the emails received. As you are aware, cybercrime often involves the use of dark web browsers, which makes tracing IP addresses difficult. However, for all countries where IP addresses have been traced, the Government of India is establishing cooperation through the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT). Some IP addresses have already been traced to locations outside the country."

Police said investigations are ongoing, with Special Task Force (STF) teams coordinating with central agencies to identify the origin of the emails and ensure security at judicial premises across the state.

- ANI