By IANS
New Delhi : An email received in the name of terror outfit Al Qaeda has threatened to blow up the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court and some judges.
Delhi Police, which has taken the threat seriously and intensified security, has launched an investigation to trace the culprits and check the authenticity of the email. The mail has been forwarded to the home ministry.
According to court sources, the Delhi High Court’s security department received the email about 10 days ago. Joint Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Karnal Singh and senior police officials reviewed security arrangements at both the courts.
Staff in the court complexes was asked to remain in uniform and wear identity cards. Directions were issued to allow nobody inside the premises without the necessary passes and a mandatory security check-up. Metal detectors were also put in place.
Police officials said the threat could not be taken lightly as it came less than a month after the Nov 23 coordinated blasts in the civil court premises in Varanasi, Faizabad and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. At least 13 people were killed.
“We have taken unprecedented security measures and are fully prepared. Bomb disposal squads and dog squads have been put on high alert. Additional police personnel have been deployed around the Supreme Court and high court premises,” a police official told IANS on the condition of anonymity.
Soon after the Uttar Pradesh blasts, some private television news channels received an email claiming to target the visiting Pakistani cricket team and warned of terror strikes in some cities.
The email to India TV channel was sent from [email protected] in the morning. Apart from threatening the Pakistani team, it also warned of blasts in various cities of Uttar Pradesh, in Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata as well as the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
The email had asked the Pakistan team to withdraw from the series.