Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 12
A call that a bomb has been planted at Elante Mall in the Industrial Area sent UT cops into a tizzy this afternoon.
The police swung into action and got the mall evacuated, leading to panic among thousands of visitors who had thronged the mall as it was a holiday today on account of Eid. It was after a search of over four hours and a half that cops realised it to be a hoax.
The police control room (PCR) received an internet voice call around 1:06 pm. The caller, who refused to identify himself, stated that a bomb had been placed at Elante Mall. An alert was sounded and several police teams were rushed to the spot. The mall authorities were also informed about the call and asked to get the shopping place evacuated.
Thousands of people, who didn’t have any clue about what had happened, started rushing out of the mall.
After visitors were asked to leave the mall, police teams, including units from the operation cell and bomb disposal squad, cordoned off the area and conducted a search operation.
Anti-sabotage, operation cell, crime branch and local police teams also conducted intensive searches of the area around the mall. The mall’s security team joined the search operation.
The building adjoining the mall that houses various offices was also evacuated as a precautionary measure.
The visitors whose vehicles were parked at the mall’s parking kept waiting outside for around three hours as the police didn’t allow anyone to enter the place.
The bomb disposal squad carried out search at all outlets, restaurants, clubs and the movie halls before concluding that it was a hoax call. The search started around 1.15 am and continued till around 5.40 pm.
Confirming that there was no bomb at the mall, SSP Nilambari Jagdale said the caller who gave false information to the PCR had been booked. “The police are close to identifying the person who made the VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) call to give false information,” she added.
Besides SSP Nilambari Jagdale, SP (Crime) Vineet Kumar, five DSPs, ten inspectors and other police and CRPF personnel reached the mall to ensure no untoward incident took place. Civil Defence team and medical teams were also present.
Save everyone if you can, said the Caller
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