Man with mental disabilities secured for bomb threat to Secretariat, Raj Bhavan

CHENNAI: The city police secured a 36-year-old man from Kallakurichi for issuing hoax bomb threats to the Secretariat and the Raj Bhavan on Monday.

According to police accounts, the 108 control room received a call on Monday morning claiming that a bomb would explode at the Secretariat and the Raj Bhavan. Following this, the information was promptly passed on to the city police.

Personnel from the Bomb Disposal and Defusal Squad (BDDS) pressed into action, and after a complete sweep of the Secretariat and the Raj Bhavan premises, the call was declared a hoax.

All belongings, including bags and unattended materials at the premises, were meticulously checked as part of the exercise. Entry of visitors was temporarily restricted, and movement within the Secretariat was closely monitored by the security personnel. Senior officials from the city police and intelligence wings supervised the operation, which continued for several hours until the threat was declared a hoax.

Meanwhile, a case was registered at Fort and Guindy police stations in connection with the threat and with the help of cyber crime police, the call was traced to Kallakurichi.

A police team secured the caller, a 36-year-old man, who police learnt was undergoing treatment for mental disabilities and is being taken care of by his parents. The police have issued a warning to the parents.

Similar hoax threats were also received at the BJP state headquarters and a private college in Avadi, the police said.

On Sunday, a 17-year-old Villupuram boy, who made a hoax bomb threat call to the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), was arrested.