Bomb threat triggers security scare at Mumbai’s Vidhan Bhavan during Budget session

As a precautionary measure, staff present inside the complex were briefly evacuated while the inspection was carried out. All entry gates to the Vidhan Bhavan were temporarily closed around 8.25 am, and security checks were significantly intensified as people began arriving for the day’s proceedings.

Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Pankaj Bhoyar said the police machinery responded promptly after the threat was reported.

“An email threatening to blow up the Vidhan Bhavan with a bomb was received this morning. After that, the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad carried out a thorough inspection of the building. Employees present in the premises were evacuated while the search was underway. Since the session generally begins after 10 am, not many elected representatives were present at that time,” Bhoyar said.

Police sources said the sender transmitted the same message three times within about an hour — first at 6.57 am, again at 7.56 am, and a third time around 9 am.

The email reportedly mentioned specific timings for alleged attacks at multiple locations across the city, including the Vidhan Bhavan, courts, banks, the stock exchange and the metro network. Officials said the message also contained references suggesting extremist slogans, though investigators believe the content resembled earlier threat emails that had ultimately turned out to be hoaxes.

A senior police officer said similar threatening emails had been received in the past as well and were investigated by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

“Even after seeing the email content, we suspected it could be a hoax because two to three such emails had been received last year as well. Those were investigated but nothing concrete was found,” the officer said.

An official involved in the earlier investigation said preliminary probes had suggested the sender may have used proxy email services and virtual private networks (VPNs), making it difficult to trace the origin.

“During the investigation earlier, it appeared the sender was operating from somewhere abroad. The trail had gone up to Syria at one point, but the use of encrypted services like Proton Mail and VPNs made it difficult to move the probe forward,” the official said.

Police also noted that similar emails had earlier been sent around national occasions such as Independence Day or Republic Day, or during visits of foreign dignitaries to India.

Despite the scare, authorities later indicated that the threat appeared to be a hoax. The Vidhan Bhavan gates were reopened after security teams completed their checks and issued an all-clear.

Following the bomb scare, visitors — except ministers, legislators, their respective staff members, journalists and legislative building staff — were not allowed to enter the premises of the legislative building for the entire day. The proceedings of the Legislative Council, scheduled to begin at 10 am, started 10 minutes late on Thursday.

Meanwhile, security was also heightened at the Bombay High Court, the Bombay Stock Exchange and other locations mentioned in the email while precautionary searches were conducted.

A case has been registered at the Marine Drive police station against an unidentified sender under Sections 351(3) and 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Cyber police have been roped in to trace the origin of the threatening emails.

The issue was also raised in the Assembly by Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar, who demanded that the Maharashtra government clarify the situation.

Raising the matter through a point of procedure, Wadettiwar said threats had reportedly been issued to blow up the Vidhan Bhavan, the Bombay High Court, the Bombay Stock Exchange and the Mumbai Metro.

“If threats are being issued to blow up such important installations, it raises questions about whether there has been a lapse in the intelligence system,” he said, urging the Home Department to conduct a thorough investigation and make a statement in the House at the earliest.