Punjab on High Alert After Bomb Threat Email Targets Chandigarh Secretariat and Multiple Temples Ahead of Operation Blue Star Anniversary

Punjab has been put on high alert after officials got a bomb threat email targeting the Punjab Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh and several temples across the state. The message surfaced just before the anniversary of Operation Blue Star so security agencies have started to set up surveillance and precautionary measures. Officials are currently investigating the email and verifying its credibility, while security checks have been ramped up at sensitive locations. 

Punjab Receives Bomb Threat Email: Which are Targeted Areas? 

The threat emails specifically mentioned the Punjab Civil Secretariat and several well-known religious sites like Durgiana Temple, Mukteshwar Temple, Devi Talab Mandir, Maisar Mandir, and Kali Devi Temple. 

After the warning came, security has been tightened at all these spots with bomb disposal teams, sniffer dogs, and police staff doing careful inspections.

The latest threat comes after several similar emails earlier, where schools and hospitals in places like Jalandhar, Patiala, and Barnala were targeted. Many of those earlier messages eventually turned out to be hoaxes yet authorities are taking no chances and are investigating the matter seriously. 

Bomb Threat Email in Punjab Ahead of Operation Blue Star Anniversary

 As the anniversary of Operation Blue Star approaches on June 6, the Punjab Police has established a comprehensive security grid across Amritsar and surrounding areas to maintain security and law and order ahead of the occasion.

Special Director General of Police (Law and Order) Praveen Kumar Sinha visited the district to review the deployment of forces and confirmed that nearly 4,000 police personnel have been deployed to ensure a peaceful atmosphere. 

Special DGP Praveen Kumar Sinha confirmed that 5 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) are now stationed within the city limits to bolster the existing police presence.

On the total troop strength stationed in the city, the Special DGP further said, “We held extensive meetings yesterday and today; we also visited the field to inspect the troop deployments… Around 4,000 police personnel have been deployed. We have brought in 2,000 policemen and 30 gazetted officers from outside the district, while another 2,000 personnel from the Amritsar district police force are also stationed here and remain on high alert. Additionally, within Amritsar city, we have deployed 5 companies of the CAPF.” 

What is Operation Blue Star? 

June 6, 1984, marked the day when the Indian Army, under Operation Blue Star, stormed into the Golden Temple on orders of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to contain Sikh militancy under the leadership of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in Punjab. It was reported that Bhindranwale had stashed large quantities of arms on the Golden Temple premises.

Bhindranwale was the head of the radical Sikh outfit Damdami Taksal. He, along with his armed followers, was killed during Operation Blue Star, launched by the Indian Army to flush out the militants from the Golden Temple complex in June 1984.

The Operation was heavily criticised. Months later, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards, Beant Singh and Satwant Singh, at her New Delhi residence on October 31, 1984. 

(Inputs from ANI)  

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