VP Residence Bomb Scare in Chennai: Panic Triggers Full Security Drill, No Danger Found
Bomb threat at VP Radhakrishnan’s Chennai home investigated; police confirm premises safe, threat was fake.
A hoax bomb threat disrupted security protocols at Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan's former residence in Mylapore on October 16, 2025, prompting a swift response from Chennai police who cordoned off the area and deployed bomb disposal squads, sniffer dogs, and forensic teams for exhaustive searches that ultimately confirmed no explosives were present.
The anonymous email, received by the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police's office late Thursday, specifically alleged a device had been planted at the 5th Trust Cross Street property, which has remained unoccupied for some time. To err on the side of caution, authorities extended the operation to Radhakrishnan's current official residence in upscale Poes Garden, declaring both sites secure after hours of meticulous checks. Police officials emphasised that such threats necessitate full-scale drills under standard operating procedures, despite their fabricated nature.
The incident, the latest in a string of email-based hoaxes plaguing Chennai's high-profile targets, has heightened concerns over a coordinated campaign exploiting digital anonymity. Over the past month, similar threats have struck schools, media outlets, IT firms, and VIP abodes, leading to repeated evacuations and operational halts that strain resources. Just last week, actor-politician and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay faced two such emails targeting his Neelangarai home, resulting in the arrest of a hotel worker from Chengalpattu district for one instance.
Earlier in October, hoax calls implicated the Chief Minister's residence, Raj Bhavan, the Madras High Court, and actress Trisha's home, with perpetrators often using spoofed international servers or fake accounts to evade traceability. Senior officers revealed an ongoing multi-agency probe, involving cyber forensics and international cooperation, to unmask patterns and deter future disruptions.
Radhakrishnan, a BJP veteran elevated to the vice presidency in July 2024 after serving as governor of Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Kerala, maintains a low-profile personal life amid his ceremonial duties as Rajya Sabha chairman. The Mylapore home, a modest family property in the culturally vibrant neighbourhood near Kapaleeshwarar Temple, symbolises his roots in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore district. While no group has claimed responsibility for this threat, authorities suspect lone actors or small networks driven by mischief, extortion, or ideological motives, echoing a national uptick in hoax incidents—over 500 reported in 2025 per National Crime Records Bureau data, up 15% from the prior year. The Vice President's office issued no comment, but enhanced security blankets were activated nationwide as a precaution.
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As Chennai police intensify digital surveillance and collaborate with telecom providers for IP tracing, the episode underscores vulnerabilities in an era of easy email spoofing. "We are not taking any chances," a senior officer stated, underscoring the psychological toll on targets and the logistical burden on responders. With arrests in recent cases like Vijay's yielding leads on common tools such as VPNs and disposable accounts, investigators anticipate breakthroughs soon. The hoax, while benign in outcome, amplifies calls for stricter cyber laws and awareness campaigns, reminding us that even fabricated alarms exact real costs in time, manpower, and public anxiety in India's bustling southern metropolis.
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