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Odisha Courts Receive Bomb Threat Emails: January 2026 Incidents and Follow-up
Multiple Odisha courts received anonymous bomb threat emails on January 8, 2026, leading to evacuations and searches. Courts in Cuttack, Sambalpur, and Deogarh were affected initially, with a follow-up threat to Cuttack, Puri, and Phulbani less than a month later, stalling judicial work.
Why It Matters
These hoax threats disrupted judicial proceedings, highlighted vulnerabilities in court security, and were part of a nationwide pattern affecting multiple states, raising concerns over coordinated digital threats to legal institutions.
Timeline
7 Events
Official response and investigation announced
February 6, 2026
Advocate General Pitambar Acharya urged calm, calling it likely a hoax like prior incidents; police started probe to identify sender.[1]
Evacuations and searches begin at three courts
February 6, 2026
Court campuses evacuated; dog and bomb disposal teams deployed in Cuttack and Puri; no suspicious objects found in Cuttack by noon, searches ongoing.[1]
New bomb threats to Cuttack, Puri, and Phulbani courts
February 6, 2026
District judge courts in Cuttack (second time), Puri, and Phulbani received threat emails, stalling judicial work; Odisha Police launched search and evacuation drives.[1]
Courts in Cuttack, Sambalpur, and Deogarh resume functioning
January 8, 2026
No suspicious objects found after searches; court functioning resumed in Cuttack, Sambalpur, and Deogarh following sanitization.[1][6]
Police launch searches and investigation
January 8, 2026
Odisha Police initiated thorough searches with anti-bomb squads, cyber forensics to trace email origins, and enhanced security; DGP directed monitoring.[1][2][3]
Orissa High Court and Cuttack District Court evacuated
January 8, 2026
Orissa High Court and adjacent Cuttack District and Sessions Court campuses were vacated as a precaution, suspending judicial work amid panic among lawyers and staff.[2][3]
Bomb threats sent to Cuttack, Sambalpur, and Deogarh courts
January 8, 2026
Anonymous emails in Odia language threatened bomb explosions at district courts in Cuttack, Sambalpur, and Deogarh, prompting evacuations and deployment of dog squads and bomb disposal teams.[1][2][3]