Hoax or danger? Ilaiyaraaja’s music studio hit by bomb threat

Chennai was on edge recently when legendary music composer Ilaiyaraaja became the latest celebrity to face a bomb scare. The maestro found himself in the middle of an alarming hoax targeting his T. Nagar studio.

The scare began on Tuesday when officials received an email warning that an explosive device had been planted at Ilaiyaraaja’s studio. The email, reportedly sent from a Hotmail account, was also addressed to the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police (DGP).

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Police personnel along with the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) rushed to the scene. There they conducted a meticulous search scanning every corner of the studio. And after hours of inspection, the authorities confirmed relief that there was no bomb and the threat was a hoax.

This is not the first time celebrities in Tamil Nadu have been targeted with such alarming messages. In the past few weeks, actors Vijay and Trisha also received similar threats.

Vijay, who is also an active politician, received two bomb threats against his Chennai residence in September. The first call came from Kanyakumari. They warned that a bomb would be planted if the actor held any public political meetings. A second threat followed on September 29. Police had acted promptly in both instances tightening security around the star’s residence and monitoring the situation closely.

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Trisha too became a target in early October. The actress received a bomb threat at her Teynampet home. Police and sniffer dogs were deployed immediately conducting a thorough search that thankfully revealed no explosives.

These incidents follow a kind of disturbing pattern of hoax threats targeting VIPs across the state. Even Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin reportedly received similar emails raising concern among the authorities about a rising trend of such intimidation tactics. Just last month, a bomb scare at the residence of former Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami had set alarm bells ringing in Chennai.

While all these threats have so far been declared false, the Tamil Nadu police are in no mood of taking chances. Investigations are ongoing with teams working to trace the origin of the emails and identify the culprits behind these alarming messages.

The police have emphasized that such threats even if hoaxes are treated with the utmost seriousness because of the potential danger and public anxiety they cause.