The Chennai police on Sunday carried out searches at multiple places in response to a series of bomb threats that ultimately turned out to be hoaxes, after a flurry of emails and phone calls targeted Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, actor Ajith Kumar, and several other prominent figures and institutions.
According to multiple media reports, every location inspected by the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) was declared safe, with officers confirming that the alerts resembled previous anonymous threats routed through hidden servers.
The scare began on November 16, when an email reached the official inbox of the Director General of Police, claiming that an explosive device had been planted at the Chief Minister’s Teynampet residence. BDDS
teams conducted a thorough search between 10 am and 11.05 am but found nothing suspicious, Money Control reported.
Soon after, more messages emerged, naming multiple high-profile locations across Chennai and other cities. Residences connected to actor Rajinikanth, actor-director KS Ravikumar, former Union minister MK Alagiri in Madurai, actress Sneha, and music director Anirudh were among those listed. Each site was inspected by police teams, and each search ended with the same result—no explosives detected.
The sweep widened further to include Chennai One IT Park, the Mylapore Saibaba Temple, PSBB School, the homes of director Thankar Bachan and actress Vadivukarasi, properties linked to medical professionals, a Malaysia Airlines flight, and the IIT Madras campus. None of the checks revealed any threats.
Investigators said the pattern matched earlier hoax messages sent through untraceable networks. The Cybercrime Wing has now taken over the probe, examining server routes and technical trails to identify the sender. Meanwhile, police have increased surveillance at sensitive locations as the investigation continues.
