Iskcon temple in Tirupati gets bomb threat, 4th hoax mail in 3 days

The Iskcon temple in Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh, heightened its security after receiving a bomb threat via email on October 27. According to an India Today report, the email claimed that terrorists linked to Pakistan’s ISI intended to bomb the temple.

Once alerted, the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) and dog squad immediately conducted a search operation within the temple grounds. Fortunately, no explosives or suspicious items were found, bringing temporary relief to both staff and devotees. Despite this, a police investigation into the origin of the threat is now underway.

This scare comes just a day after two prominent hotels in Tirupati also received bomb threats on October 26. The threats in those cases were later determined to be hoaxes, confirmed by thorough searches conducted by the BDS and sniffer dogs. The threatening messages in these cases mentioned a connection to Jaffer Sadiq, a drug trafficking kingpin recently apprehended in Tamil Nadu by the Narcotics Control Bureau and Enforcement Directorate.

According to India Today report, the emails also made unsubstantiated claims, mentioning Tamil Nadu's top police officer in connection with ISI plans to create diversions linked to Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi, the wife of Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin.

Adding to the alarm, three other hotels in Tirupati had previously received bomb threats, which were also debunked as hoaxes by security forces after extensive searches.