THANE: A 144-year-old Jewish synagogue in Thane received a bomb threat email on Thursday afternoon. Though the threat later turned out to be a hoax, police stepped up vigil outside Shaar Hashamaim - Gate of Heaven Synagogue in Charai's Dhobi Ali area.
A preliminary probe found that the email had been sent from the US. "The IP address seems to be from the US.
We are trying to track down the sender," said Ravi Kshirsagar, senior inspector, Naupada police station. The bomb threat email assumes importance in the wake of the IED explosion outside the Israeli Embassy.
Complainant Samual Daniel (64) told Naupada police that around 12.20pm, one of the trustees spotted the threat email which read: "I planted bombs inside of your synagogue. The explosives are well hidden and they will go off soon. We will make sure you all end up dead. We are a terrorist group called: Fuming."
The trustee alerted Naupada police and the
Israel consulate
. Police rushed a bomb detection and disposal squad to the spot and evacuated the staff at the prayer centre. They cordoned off the area, diverted traffic and instructed commercial establishments to down their shutters for a brief period. "We carried out a thorough search and did not find anything suspicious. However, security has been stepped up in the area," said DCP Ganesh Gawade. Police have regi-stered an FIR under the releva-nt Indian Penal Code sections.
The foundation stone for the synagogue was laid on March 26, 1878, and the building was completed on December 29, 1879. In 1999, the synagogue was renovated and beautified. Daniel said the Thane synagogue is an important centre of Jewish community activities. He added that around 40% of the Jewish population in India reside in and around Thane city and most of them offer prayers at Shaar Hashamaim.
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