Ludhiana/Shimla, October 20
The anthrax scare gripped Ludhiana and Shimla today. Alarm bells rang in the police and the Health Department today when a Focal Point resident of Ludhiana received a suspicious packet sent to him by an unidentified person from St. Louis, USA, and panic gripped the GPO in Shimla when an envelope with a foul smelling power was found while sorting the mail.

The packet received in Ludhiana contained a pamphlet advertising a nutritious product along with a small pack containing some powder. The family did not open the packet as the sender was not known to them. It was addressed to their son Simarpal Singh, who is studying MBBS in Armenia and they don’t have any connection with St. Louis city or the company. The pamphlet has been undersigned by a company called Personal Edge, The pamphlet is a photostat copy.

No one has been reported ill. The police has sealed the packet and sent it to the forensic laboratory in Chandigarh for examination.

Civil hospital doctors examined the family members. They were given doses of Ciprofloaxin tablets as a precautionary measure. The family has been told to report immediately to the doctors if they develop some problem.

A team of the Focal Point police along with doctors from the civil hospital rushed to their house after receiving the complaint.

Mr Surinder pal Singh, who received the packet last evening, said they did not open it, fearing an anthrax attack. On the advice of some friends, they decided to inform the police. He said SHO Mukhwinder Singh along with a team of doctors reached their house. The SHO and a doctor wearing gloves and masks opened the packet. He was also reported to be safe.

The recovery of the packet spread panic in the police and health administration as no proper infrastructure and equipment is available here to meet such a situation.

The police said in the wake of the terrorist attacks in USA and the receipt of a similar packet in Hoshiarpur yesterday, the packet might be a terrorist attack.

The police has appealed to the city residents to immediately inform the police control room in case of any such incident.

In Shimla, panic gripped the General Post Office in the heart of the town on The Mall here this morning as an envelope packed with some foul smelling powder suspected to be anthrax was found while sorting the mail.

Microbiologists in the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) where the envelope was sent for examination have in the preliminary tests ruled out the possibility of the powder being anthrax.

The SP, Mr Pradeep Kumar, described it as a hoax and said that the matter was being further investigated. The letter inside the envelope would also be examined.

The post office authorities said that the airmail envelope was cleared from a letter box outside the GPO and was addressed to Mr Verma, Jugal Niwas, Lower Chakkar, Shimla. It tore and a stinking grey colour powder poured out when it was being stamped in the sorting section.

The police was summoned, who in turn sent the envelope to the microbiology department of the IGMC for further examination.

The Chief Post-Master General, Mr Vijay Bhushan, said that instructions have been issued to the post office for contacting the police and health authorities in case any suspicious article was found in the mail.

Meanwhile, the Jalandhar animal husbandry authorities postponed the laboratory test of the unclaimed parcel suspected to have anthrax, found at Hoshiarpur till Monday, on account of holidays.

The unclaimed parcel was reportedly delivered to the director of JCT Mills Mr S.K. Maheshwari at Chohal village in Hoshiarpur yesterday and had been sent from Singapore. Mr Maheshwari got suspicious about it when he found that there were nine names mentioned as senders, including that of Mr George Bush and Mr Nelson Mandela. Moreover, he claimed that he had no acquaintance in Singapore.