Bomb Threat Emails Disrupt Odisha District Courts; Naveen Calls for Urgent Probe

Bhubaneswar: Several district courts in Odisha were thrown into a state of panic on Friday after receiving anonymous bomb threat emails, triggering immediate evacuations, suspension of judicial work, and extensive security checks by police and bomb disposal squads.

The threats were reported from courts in Cuttack, Puri and Phulbani. Judicial proceedings were halted as a precautionary measure, and judges, lawyers, litigants and court staff were evacuated from the premises.
As per reports, the emails warned of explosives allegedly planted inside court buildings. In Cuttack, the district and sessions court was the first to report the threat, followed by alerts from Puri and Phulbani in Kandhamal district.

Security agencies conducted thorough searches, but no explosives were recovered. Investigations are ongoing to trace the origin of the emails, with cyber experts roped in.

This is the second such wave of bomb threat emails targeting courts in the state within a month. On January 8, similar hoax threats were sent to courts in Cuttack, Sambalpur and Deogarh.

Reacting to the latest incidents, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) President and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik expressed serious concern.

In a post on X, he said he was “very worried” about the repeated threats to courts in Cuttack, Puri, Phulbani and Jajpur, and flagged the failure of authorities to trace the source of earlier emails.

Calling for a “prompt, thorough and appropriate investigation,” Naveen urged the state government not to treat the matter lightly and to ensure that those responsible are identified at the earliest.

He also appealed to the public to remain calm, refrain from spreading rumours and cooperate with security agencies.