3 hours at Tis Hazari: threat turns hoax, raises court alert The Tis Hazari courts had to deal with a different case on Thursday morning. At 9.12 am, an anonymous call at the Subzi Mandi police post warned that six militants had entered the court complex posing as lawyers and would blow up the district court complex.No sooner had the news been communicated that a large possé of police personnel and a bomb detection squad reached the court premises. Policemen were deployed at all gates to cordon off the area, evacuate people, and keep a vigil on activities inside the court complex.Appeals were made to the lawyers and litigants to vacate the premises with the information that all hearings had been adjourned and the courts would not function further for the day. Soon, the bomb detention squad members got down to business: teamed with sniffer dogs, they extensively searched the courtrooms, judges’ chambers, the central hall and other offices.The search was completed at 12.50 pm, when Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Sagarpreet Hooda announced it was a hoax call. “The call was only to create panic,” Hooda said. “We are trying to trace the caller.”Hooda later conducted a meeting with the three district judges of Tis Hazari to review security arrangements in the court complex.Lawyers see glimmer of hope in hoax callAs the terror threat was announced to be a hoax, most lawyers saw it as a “wake-up call”: the security arrangements, which they said have many flaws, might improve in the aftermath. Newsline spoke with lawyers on the issue:Jaiveer Singh Chauhan (secretary, Delhi Bar Association): “We had already been contemplating how to enhance security in the court premises. The call in fact made us act rapidly. After a meeting with the area police officials, Tis Hazari will now have new metal detectors, more police personnel, and many other measures in place from tomorrow.”* S P Singh (member executive, Delhi Bar Association): “May be this was the wake-up call for officials responsible for ensuring security inside the court premises. Hoax or real, at least it would help improve the security situation.”Piyush Prabhakar (advocate): “The court complex has metal detectors but most of them do not work properly. Moreover, no policeman is present to frisk any suspicious person. The call would certainly help bring in some effective measures.”New measures from today12 new metal detectors, with latest technology, brought in todayFrom Friday, each gate will have two detectors: one for lawyers and the court staff, another for litigantsParking attendants to check all vehicles entering the premises; no one will be allowed to stay in court complex after 8 pmAnyone violating regulations would invite arrestPrivate security personnel hired to raise security(According to Delhi Bar Association secretary Jaiveer Singh Chauhan)
