Bengaluru on Edge: Hoax Bomb Threats Target Israeli Consulate and High Court

Bengaluru was gripped by a sudden security scare on Saturday as two prominent institutions – the Consulate General of Israel and the Karnataka High Court – simultaneously received ominous hoax bomb threats via email. The alarming messages, which threatened to detonate explosives within their premises, triggered an immediate and robust response from the city's police force, deploying bomb detection and disposal squads along with K9 units.

The first threat email landed at the Consulate General of Israel, situated on RV Road in V V Puram, sending alarm bells ringing through the diplomatic establishment.

Almost concurrently, a similar email targeting the Karnataka High Court, a cornerstone of justice located on Dr Ambedkar Veedhi, was also reported. Both emails contained explicit warnings of multiple bombs planted, designed to cause widespread panic and disruption.

Acting swiftly on the intelligence, Bengaluru City Police sealed off the areas surrounding both the Consulate and the High Court.

Specialists, including highly trained bomb disposal units and dog squads, meticulously scoured every corner of the buildings and their vicinities for hours. The rigorous searches, however, yielded no suspicious devices or materials, eventually confirming the threats to be elaborate hoaxes.

Police officials confirmed that the email format and content bore striking similarities to previous bomb threats, including one recently directed at the Israeli Embassy in Delhi and another targeting Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport.

These sophisticated hoaxes often aim to disrupt public life and strain security resources, highlighting a growing challenge for law enforcement agencies.

Following the thorough investigations and the confirmation that the threats were false, V V Puram police registered a case concerning the threat to the Israeli Consulate, while the Vidhana Soudha police initiated proceedings for the High Court threat.

The authorities are now working to trace the origin of these malicious emails and identify the perpetrators behind what amounts to a serious breach of public peace and security protocol.