Gujarat police have placed jails across the state on high alert after an email allegedly threatening bomb attacks on Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad and other prisons was received at the Director General of Police’s office in Gandhinagar on November 3.
The email reportedly referred to prisons in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot and Surat. Following the alert, Ahmedabad Crime Branch personnel, the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad and local police teams began an extensive search of Sabarmati Central Jail, including sensitive barracks and other key areas.
The threat was sent by an unidentified person to the official email address of the DGP’s office, according to Gujarat Samachar. The police administration subsequently instructed jail superintendents and district police chiefs across Gujarat to remain on high alert.
At Sabarmati Central Jail, teams used sniffer dogs, metal detectors and other search equipment during the operation. Checks were increased for visitors, vehicles and supplies entering the prison complex. Access for unauthorised persons, apart from jail staff, was temporarily restricted, while security and watch duties around the premises were strengthened.
Police have registered a case at a cybercrime police station and begun efforts to trace the source of the email. The cybercrime technical team is examining the email headers and server logs, with assistance from digital experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory, the report said.
Investigators are examining whether a proxy server, virtual private network or encrypted email service may have been used to send the message. These possibilities remain part of the technical investigation, and the identity of the sender has not been established in the supplied report.
Security has also been increased around Sabarmati Jail’s high-security zones and anda cell. The facility houses convicts in serial blast cases, gang-related offenders and prisoners linked to terrorist activities, according to the report. Monitoring has been intensified from perimeter-wall watchtowers and the jail’s CCTV control room.
The immediate police response involves both physical searches and digital tracing. While the searches are intended to identify any possible threat inside the prison premises, the cybercrime investigation is focused on establishing the origin and route of the email. No bomb or explosive device was reported as having been found in the supplied account.
Further action will depend on the findings of the search operations and the technical analysis of the email’s digital trail. Police and jail authorities are continuing heightened security measures across the identified facilities.
