Hoax bomb threats at Palakkad and Thrissur in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: Two bomb threats were received on Wednesday in Kerala -- one at the Thrissur Collectorate and another at the office of the Revenue Divisional Officer in Palakkad.

The common thread in both these threats, which came in the form of an email, was that RDX had been planted in the RDO office and also at the Collectorate to target the Leader of the Opposition in Tamil Nadu, Edappadi Palaniswami.

At Thrissur, the email was sent from the address rana_tahawur@hotmail.com at around 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

Thrissur District collector Arjun Pandian swung into action, and a search operation began, with the anti-bomb and dog squads being pressed into service.

The Collectorate was barricaded, and following the search, nothing untoward was detected.

Likewise, at the Palakkad RDO office, the security agencies were quick to commence their operations, and at the end of the search, things were cleared.

Of late, hoax messages have increased. Last month, threats were received at the Collectorate in Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta and Wayanad. The agencies were quick to respond, and in the end, they turned out to be a hoax.

Incidentally, eight of the 14 districts of Kerala share a border with Tamil Nadu and barring Wayanad by now four of the Kerala district headquarters which has a border with Tamil Nadu have received bomb threats.

The top brass of the Kerala Police since the past few weeks have intensified their probe ever since the threat letters started arriving at the district collectorates.

The Kerala Police have also intensified their patrolling duties, especially in the hilly district of Idukki, as the border areas with Tamil Nadu have a good number of Tamil population who eke out a living in the tea estates.

Likewise, the two leading political parties in Tamil Nadu -- the ruling DMK and the AIADMK, presently in the opposition have a good number of followers in Idukki.

IANS