Letter warning of bomb blast creates panic at city courts
The building was evacuated but the bomb squad found nothing.
PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
Court proceedings were disrupted following a bomb hoax at the city courts on Thursday.
The panic started when a suspicious letter was found outside a district and sessions court in district Central. The letter said: “A blast can take place at the City Courts and prison vans can be targeted.”
As a result, the police and bomb squad experts were called in. Several cases were put off and the court premises were evacuated as the police and law enforcers looked for the bomb. After several hours, the bomb squad declared that it was just a prank.
“The courts are scoured by the bomb disposal squad every morning,” said City Courts SHO Muhammad Iqbal. “It’s nothing more than a prank.” According to Iqbal, this was the second letter that has been found from the courts in the past three months.
He insisted that the security measures inside the court complex are extra ordinary and that it was just a mischief. The complex has more than 150 courts and thousands of litigants visit the place every day.
Karachi Bar Association vice president Muhammad Saeeduz Zaman said the proceedings resumed after the authorities assured that the information was incorrect. Zaman and other members took up the security issue with the district and sessions judge, South.
The litigants accused members of the court staff for writing that letter. It was just a lame excuse to take some time off work.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 18th, 2013.
Court proceedings were disrupted following a bomb hoax at the city courts on Thursday.
The panic started when a suspicious letter was found outside a district and sessions court in district Central. The letter said: “A blast can take place at the City Courts and prison vans can be targeted.”
As a result, the police and bomb squad experts were called in. Several cases were put off and the court premises were evacuated as the police and law enforcers looked for the bomb. After several hours, the bomb squad declared that it was just a prank.
“The courts are scoured by the bomb disposal squad every morning,” said City Courts SHO Muhammad Iqbal. “It’s nothing more than a prank.” According to Iqbal, this was the second letter that has been found from the courts in the past three months.
He insisted that the security measures inside the court complex are extra ordinary and that it was just a mischief. The complex has more than 150 courts and thousands of litigants visit the place every day.
Karachi Bar Association vice president Muhammad Saeeduz Zaman said the proceedings resumed after the authorities assured that the information was incorrect. Zaman and other members took up the security issue with the district and sessions judge, South.
The litigants accused members of the court staff for writing that letter. It was just a lame excuse to take some time off work.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 18th, 2013.