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After schools, bomb threat emails target Punjab Civil Secretariat, Municipal Bhawan in Chandigarh

Chandigarh Police officers said all standard security protocols were being followed after the bomb threats, and no suspicious object had been detected so far.

2 min readUpdated: Jan 30, 2026 05:48 AM IST

Police and cyber teams are investigating the origin of the emails, even as earlier threats to schools and courts were found to be hoaxes.

Bomb threat emails triggered evacuations and security sweeps at the Punjab Civil Secretariat and Municipal Bhawan in Chandigarh on Thursday. (Express Photo)

A day after a series of bomb threat emails were sent to schools, the District Court, and the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh, the Punjab and Haryana Civil Secretariat in Sector 1 and the Punjab Municipal Bhawan in Sector 35 on Thursday received similar messages, prompting an immediate security response.

According to officials, the emails were sent to the National Informatics Centre (NIC) at the Punjab Civil Secretariat and to the Director, Local Government, at Municipal Bhawan, where the Punjab Chief Minister, Bhagwant Mann, routinely attends official functions in the auditorium.

Following receipt of the threat emails, police, fire brigade personnel, and bomb disposal squads rushed to both locations. Security agencies cordoned off the premises and evacuated employees and visitors as a precautionary measure. A thorough anti-sabotage check and search operation is currently underway at both sites.

Police officers said all standard security protocols were being followed and no suspicious object had been detected so far. The situation remains under close watch, they added.

According to police sources, one of the emails was sent via Gmail to the Punjab Secretariat and reportedly contained a threatening message for the Punjab Police chief.

Chandigarh Police officers said the threats are being taken seriously. The cyber cell has launched an investigation to trace the origin of the emails and identify the sender. Efforts are underway to establish the source and motive behind the messages.

On Wednesday, at least 30 schools across the Union Territory (UT) received bomb threat emails, triggering large-scale security operations, evacuations, and temporary suspension of classes. After extensive searches throughout the day, police confirmed that no suspicious or explosive material was found on any of the school premises.

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This is not the first such incident in the region. Over the past few days, similar bomb threat emails were received targeting the District Courts in Chandigarh and the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Those threats were later declared hoaxes after exhaustive searches found no explosive material.

Despite earlier incidents proving false alarms, security agencies remain on high alert as investigations continue.

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