'Will blow you up': Jharkhand health minister receives death threat again

RANCHI: Jharkhand Health Minister Dr Irfan Ansari once again received a death threat through a phone call from an unknown number late Sunday night. The caller initially used abusive language and warned that the minister would be blown up very soon. You just wait We will blow you up very soon, the caller said. The minister informed the police immediately, following which security agencies were put on alert and efforts were made to further strengthen his security. The investigation has also been intensified as the police have started tracking the phone number to identify the caller. According to sources, the threat call came on the minister's mobile at around 11:56 pm on Sunday, while he was staying at Bokaro Circuit House. He had gone there to attend an official programme. Ansari's office later confirmed the incident and said that he is not afraid of any threat, adding that the law will take its course and the culprit will soon be in police custody. Senior administrative and police officials have been informed about the entire incident, they said. Notably, this is not the first time Ansari has received such threats. A few days ago, a youth from Giridih released a video on social media threatening to blow up Ansari and Urban Development Minister Sudivya Kumar with a bomb. In the video, which went viral on social media, the youth was seen threatening to blow up Sudivya and Ansari within 24 hours. The youth, identifying himself as Ankit Kumar Mishra, a resident of Giridih, claimed to be a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. The youth said that he had some personal matter with these ministers, but if they apologised, he would not do anything. Later, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by Giridih Police arrested Mishra from Patna in Bihar. During interrogation, the police found that he had no connection with any organised criminal gang, but he had been to jail for petty crimes on several occasions.