Panic briefly spread through Chennai when an anonymous email claimed a bomb had been planted at the Mylapore residence of India’s Vice President, C.P. Radhakrishnan. However, a rapid and thorough response by police, which included securing the entire area and conducting extensive searches, confirmed the threat to be a baseless hoax.
Police sources revealed that the alarming email arrived at the official ID of the Tamil Nadu DGP on Thursday evening, specifically naming the Vice President’s Mylapore property. In a coordinated effort, the Greater Chennai City Police’s Security Branch, the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS), and local law enforcement immediately converged on the location.
Investigators soon found that the threatened Mylapore property had actually been vacant for some time. Despite this, and because the sender also vaguely mentioned another location in Coimbatore, police took no chances. They extended their search operations to Mr. Radhakrishnan’s current Mylapore residence as a precautionary measure. Both sites were thoroughly inspected by bomb disposal units and dog squads and subsequently declared safe.
This incident unfortunately joins a growing list of hoax bomb threats targeting Chennai. Anonymous emails have increasingly been used to target high-profile individuals, schools, media organizations, IT companies, and other vital institutions across the city.