Karur stampede fallout? TVK leader Vijay's Chennai home receives hoax bomb threat; caller held

Tamil Nadu police and Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad confirmed "hoax" a bomb threat received at the residence of actor and Tamilaga Vettri  Kazhagam (TVK) leader Vijay's residence in Chennai. The hoax threat comes amid the party and Vijay facing ire over the tragic Karur stampede. Police have nabbed the caller.

According to police, the control room in Chennai received a call during the early hours of Thursday about an explosive being planted at actor Vijay's Neelankarai residence. On receiving the call, the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) and police rushed to the spot, and checks were carried out checks. However, police did not find any explosives in the premises.

 

According to police, checks were conducted initially outside the house, and they later checked inside the residence after the actor woke up. The search lasted for around four hours. 

 

However, police later nabbed the caller. He was identified as Shabik (37). The hoax caller has been arrested, and a probe is underway, police said. 

 

A senior police officer told PTI that there has been a recent surge in hoax threats, and city personalities have been receiving bomb hoax threat emails from a Hotmail address. "Last month, actor-politician S.Ve. Shekher also received a bomb threat mail. The content of these emails are similar. We are yet to trace that mail ID," said the official.

 

Earlier this week, a prominent national daily from Chennai, too, received a bomb threat mail claiming three RDX IEDs had been planted in their premises.

India