Rajasthan: Bomb threat to Ajmer Sharif, atomic plant; search operation underway

Security agencies launched an extensive search operation in Ajmer on Thursday after the district administration received an email threatening to blow up the Ajmer Sharif dargah and the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant with RDX-based explosives, police said.

The email, received at the collectorate around noon, claimed that four RDX-based improvised explosive devices (IEDs) had been planted at the Dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, the collectorate premises and the Kudankulam atomic plant, adding that the bombs would detonate as soon as Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives, according to the police.

Superintendent of Police Vandita Rana said all departments were alerted after the threat mail surfaced.

"An email threatening to bomb the Ajmer dargah and the collectorate was received. Following this, the premises were evacuated and checked thoroughly," she said.

Rana said, "The dargah complex has also been cleared and a search operation is underway. So far, no suspicious object has been found."

Teams of the Crime Investigation Department, Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), dog squads and bomb disposal units have been deployed at both locations. Security personnel from four police stations, along with additional forces, are conducting systematic checks using metal detectors, the officer said.

Entry into the dargah has been temporarily halted, causing crowds to gather outside the main gates. The area around the shrine has been cordoned off, and all incoming visitors are being stopped until the search concludes.

Senior officials, including three civic body commissioners and station house officers from nine police stations, have been stationed at the site to oversee the operation, Rana said, adding that a probe into the source of the email is underway.