Bomb hoax in Srirangam sends police into a tizzy

An anonymous letter threatening that bombs would go off at the Srirangam Railway Station and Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple before November 29 kept the security personnel on their toes on Tuesday.

The handwritten letter in Tamil addressed to the Srirangam Railway station master threatened that the blasts would be carried out using powerful explosives.

Upon receipt of the letter on Tuesday, the station master alerted the Government Railway Police and the Railway Protection Force (RPF). The letter sent in the name of a video and photo shop owner at Puthur in Tiruchi threatened that bombs would be planted in trains and buses.

Consequent to the receipt of the threat letter, anti-sabotage teams of the RPF and the City Police conducted thorough checks at the railway station and the temple complex as a precautionary measure. A sniffer dog belonging to the RPF Dog Squad trained in detecting explosive substances was pressed into service to conduct checks at the railway station.

The Bomb Detection Squad of the RPF along with a team of its personnel and Railway Police men had been deployed at the Srirangam Railway Station to keep a round-the-clock watch, railway sources said. The police personnel later enquired the photo shop owner who feigned ignorance.

“Security personnel suspect that the letter had been sent apparently to frame the person in whose name it was sent. Nevertheless, we have taken the letter seriously and would be conducting checks,” said an RPF officer.