Sambalpur: A major security alert was triggered at the District and Sessions Court in Odisha’s Samablpur on Monday after authorities received a bomb threat via email, prompting a large-scale search operation.
This marks yet another incident in a troubling series of hoax threats targeting Odisha’s courts in recent months.
According to sources, police, along with the anti-bomb disposal squad and K-9 sniffer dog units, swiftly responded by launching a thorough sweep of the court complex using metal detectors, NLJD equipment, optical fibre scopes, and detailed vehicle checks. Both main gates were barricaded, with entry strictly limited to those undergoing rigorous identification verification. As of the latest updates, no explosives or suspicious objects have been found, but authorities continue high-alert operations to fully sanitise the area before resuming normal activities.
Sambalpur SDPO Tophan Bag confirmed that security teams acted promptly on the threat.
This is reportedly the fourth such email received by the Sambalpur court this year, with previous incidents noted in January and March. Similar alerts have disrupted proceedings at other courts, including those in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Phulbani, Deogarh, Koraput, and Angul, forcing evacuations and halting judicial work.
The anonymous emails have raised significant concerns among lawyers and the legal fraternity, who have criticised the repeated failures to trace the perpetrators despite ongoing probes. These hoaxes are causing substantial disruptions, wasting valuable court time and creating panic among judges, advocates, and litigants.
Investigators are examining the digital trail, with indications that the threats may be routed through the Dark Web using tools like the TOR browser and advanced masking techniques.
