The Punjab and Haryana civil secretariat in Sector 1 and the mini-secretariat in Sector 9 in Chandigarh, the joint capital of the two states, were evacuated on Thursday morning after authorities received a bomb threat via email.
The incident comes a day after 30 schools across Chandigarh received similar threats via emails. While those threats were declared hoaxes after a thorough search, the police are maintaining high vigil.
Police said the threat at the civil secretariat and mini-secretariat was reported around 9.30am on Thursday, leading to the temporary suspension of administrative work across both major government hubs.
After a message was received on the official email address of the Haryana civil secretariat, Chandigarh Police followed standard security protocols and got the buildings evacuated by 10am, moving nearly 5,000 employees and visitors to designated safe zones.
Bomb disposal squads and sniffer dogs were deployed to conduct a systematic search of the premises. As of midday, no suspicious objects or explosives have been recovered.
Preliminary findings suggest that the emails sent on both Wednesday and Thursday contained Khalistani-related references. The Cyber Cell is currently investigating potential links between these incidents while working to trace the origin of the digital trail.Background and Context
The Sector 1 secretariat is a high-security zone, housing the offices of the chief ministers, cabinet ministers, and senior bureaucrats of both Punjab and Haryana. The mini-secretariat in Sector 9 serves as an additional administrative wing.
While a case has been registered regarding Wednesday’s school threats, no arrests have been made yet. Authorities have requested the public and government staff to remain calm as the search operations conclude.
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