Mumbai airport, Taj Hotel receive bomb threat over Afzal Guru hanging

While nothing suspicious was found, an investigation to trace the sender of the email is underway

The Mumbai Police have received a threat email, warning of bomb attacks at two major city landmarks, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. The email claimed that the hanging of parliament attack mastermind was “unjust”, The Indian Express reported. 

 

Taking note of this, security teams immediately carried out checks at both the airport and the hotel, but nothing suspicious was found.

 

The report said that the email was sent from the id tviduthalai_puli_vellum@outlook.com to the official email of the airport police station on Thursday morning. Even as Mumbai is already on high alert due to recent tensions between India and Pakistan, the administration has been conducting security drills across several key locations.

 

 

In the email, the sender cited “unjust hanging of Afzal Guru and Savakku Shankar” as the motive behind the threat. Afzal Guru was executed on February 9, 2013 for his role in the 2001 Parliament attack, but reference to Savakku Shankar is factually incorrect. Shankar, a former clerk who became known for exposing corruption, is still alive and currently active as a YouTuber and social activist. He recently filed a public interest litigation in the Madras High Court seeking a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in schemes meant for manual scavengers, the Indian Express report stated.

 

The Mumbai Police has filed a case against the sender of the email and is now working to trace the origin of the message through its digital footprint, the report said.

 

Just last week, a similar bomb threat was reported at the disaster control room of the Maharashtra Secretariat and the police.

 

The Taj Hotel has been one of India’s most well-known five-star hotels. On 26 November 2008, Mumbai witnessed attacks at various places, including Taj, by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists, resulting in the deaths of 167 people and injuring over 250. The hotel is protected by tight, round-the-clock security both inside and out.

 

Mumbai’s airport, which enroutes thousands of domestic and international travellers each day, is a sensitive location.

 

The police are thoroughly investigating the incident and are working with cyber experts to identify the person behind the email.