The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) received yet another email on Thursday threatening to blow up the Golden Temple, taking the total number of such threatening messages to six since July 14. This time, the threatening email was sent directly to Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, with a copy marked to the SGPC, The Tribune reported.
Although the police initially denied receiving the email, an SGPC official confirmed that it had indeed been sent, The Tribune report said.
The series of threat emails began on July 14, when the first message came from a fake email account impersonating Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The second threat, received a day later on July 15, was allegedly sent using a fake email ID posing as former Chief Justice of India, Justice Chanderchur Singh. Both emails were sent to SGPC members and Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla.
The situation escalated on July 16, when three more threatening emails were received. These were allegedly sent by someone named Asif Gaffur and were addressed to both the SGPC and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, The New Indian Express reported.
In response to the threats, CM Bhagwant Mann on Thursday held a high-level meeting with senior police officials to review the situation. In a statement on social media, Mann reassured citizens, saying, “I appeal to the people of Punjab to stay alert and not fall for rumours. Religious places of all religions are sacred and venerable to us, and we are fully committed to their protection.”
“There will be no compromise on Punjab’s security. Our police and security agencies are fully alert. Anti-national and anti-social elements will be dealt with strictly,” Mann added.
Meanwhile, MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, asking for the permanent deployment of central forces around the Golden Temple for added protection.
Punjab Minister Sanjeev Arora responded by stating that the Punjab Police is fully capable of handling the situation and protecting the Golden Temple and its devotees. Meanwhile, Amritsar’s Police Commissioner, along with local AAP MLAs Inderbir Singh Nijjar and Ajay Gupta, held a meeting with SGPC officials. After the meeting, Nijjar mentioned that the Chief Minister was closely monitoring every development in the case.
“We have got vital leads in the case and police teams have been dispatched out of the state for further investigations,” Commissioner Bhullar was quoted by The Tribune as saying. He also revealed that the threatening emails were sent using a service from a subsidiary of a US-based software company.
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