Mental health institute in Chandigarh receives bomb threat over email

Chandigarh: A mental health institute here received a bomb threat over email on Wednesday, following which patients and employees were moved to safety and a search operation was initiated, police said.

An official of the institute claimed the same email has been sent to a number of hospitals in Delhi and south India.

A Chandigarh police official said they were searching the premises of the mental health institute but nothing has been found so far. Besides police personnel, bomb disposal squad and fire department officials have been deputed at the site.

Dr Aparajita, the deputy medical superintendent of the Mental Health Institute at Sector 32, Chandigarh, told reporters that the hospital received the bomb threat over email in the morning.

There were about 100 people, including patients, doctors and other employees at the hospital at the time, she said.

"We received an email. In addition to our centre, the email was sent to many psychiatry hospitals in the country. It was mentioned that there is a bomb in the hospital," the doctor said.

Replying to a question, Dr Aparajita said, "We forwarded the email to the police. The sender's name... did not appear to be known. It has been sent from a personal email id." Asked which other hospitals were mentioned in the email, she said, "It had names of some hospitals in Delhi, some in south India and CIP (Central Institute of Psychiatry), Ranchi." "In the email, it was written that there is a bomb in the hospital and everyone will die," the deputy medical superintendent said.