Barely a couple of days after the new governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) assumed charge, law enforcement officers are investigating a bomb threat to the country’s central bank.
Police in Mumbai said they launched an investigation into the alleged bomb threat to the RBI. The central bank received a warning email earlier on Friday morning in Russian language about a possible explosion. The news of the threat was first reported by India TV.
According to multiple reports, police officials said that they registered a case, and the investigation into the matter was launched promptly after the threat was reported.
The email in Russian was sent to the official inbox of RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra, reports said.
Friday has been a day of bomb threats in both the major metros of the country, with six schools in Delhi receiving bomb threat emails in the morning. Students were sent back home, and Delhi police, along with other security forces, conducted rigorous checks at all school premises.
At least 45 schools in Delhi have received a threat so far this year. Hoax threats to airlines and airports across the country amounted to almost 1,000 from the start of the year.
India stock markets slump in Friday trade
Weak global cues, foreign investors pulling out funds, and many factors together saw benchmark Indian indices slump in the first half of Friday.
The Sensex shed at least 1,207 points, while the Nifty lost around 368 points.
Blue-chip stocks such as JSW Steel, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, Larsen and Toubro, ITC Mahindra and Mahindra all traded in the red.
On Thursday alone, FIIs sold off at least Rs 3,560 crore worth of shares as per the NSE. “In the near term, the market has a headwind and a tailwind. The headwind is the resumption of selling by the FIIs who sold stocks for Rs 3,560 crore yesterday. Given the high valuations in India, FIIs are likely to sell more at every market rise,” said V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
