Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar : Two FIRs, one each by Vedantnagar police and Nanded district police, have been registered against an unidentified person for allegedly sending an email threatening to blow up the district and sessions court with a bomb, triggering panic among judges, lawyers, court staff and visitors.
Vedantnagar police registered the FIR under sections 353(1)(b), 351(4), 217 and 132 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deal with providing false information and obstructing public servants in the discharge of their duties. Nanded superintendent of police Neelabh Rohan said police had registered an FIR under section 353 (2) and 212 of BNS and Section 66 (F) of Information and technology Act. The threat email was received on the court’s official email ID at 11.13am on Monday, according to the FIRs. The sender claimed that the district court would be blown up at 3.11pm.
“The local police station with the cybercrime team have been tasked to work on the case,” Neelabh said. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city commissioner of police Pravin Pawar said the complainant, Nitin Rajesh Marathe (55), a court employee, stated that the false threat disrupted court functioning and created “an atmosphere of fear and terror” among judges, public prosecutors, govt staff and members of the public present on the premises. Police said the identity and address of the email account holder were not known. DCP (zone I) Pankaj Atulkar said investigators were seeking details of the email account from the service provider and examining the IP address and other technical data to identify the sender. “Our police teams including the cybercrime police are coordinating with other agencies as similar threats have been sent to other district courts across the state,” Atulkar said.
It carries a maximum punishment of three years. Marathe lodged the complaint after being authorised by the principal district and sessions judge. Inspector Mukund Palve, in-charge of Vedantnagar police station, is investigating the case.