Mumbai: Several museums in Mumbai, the financial capital of India, were put on high alert after receiving threatening emails warning about bomb blasts on Friday. The Mumbai police have booked unidentified persons for sending the emails and launched a probe to trace the culprits.
The emails were sent to at least eight institutions across Mumbai, including the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum in Colaba, the Nehru Science Centre in Worli, and the Byculla Zoo. The emails claimed that many bombs had been planted in the museums and they would explode at any time.
As soon as the emails were received, the Mumbai police bomb disposal squad, along with sniffer dogs and quick reaction teams, reached the spots and conducted a thorough search operation. However, no trace of explosives or suspicious objects was found in any of the museums.
A case has been registered at the MRA Marg Police Station under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including making or circulating a false alarm or warning as to disaster or its severity or magnitude, leading to panic; statements conducting public mischief; and criminal intimidation³. The police are also trying to trace the location of the sender through the cyber department.
This is not the first time that Mumbai has received such bomb threats. In December 2023, three prominent financial institutions – the Reserve Bank of India, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank – received similar emails demanding the resignations of the finance minister and the RBI governor. The emails also mentioned 11 locations in Mumbai as potential targets for detonation, but no explosives were found there either.
