Bomb threat at Chandigarh mall proves to be hoax

This image has been used for representational purpose only

Chandigarh: Police on Monday said that the bomb threat in a high-end shopping mall, crowded with shoppers owing to a holiday on the occasion of Eid turned out to be a hoax.

According to news agency IANS report, police, along with bomb disposal and anti-sabotage teams, conducted intensive searches of the Elante Mall after getting it vacated of all people.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Nilambari Jagdale, told the media that the police control room got a call that explosives had been planted in the mall.

She said a hunt is on to identify the caller, who made an internet voice call.

Some people at the spot initially thought it was a mock drill ahead of Independence Day, but police clarified that it was not.

"It is not a mock drill. Please cooperate," Chandigarh's Senior Superintendent of Police, Traffic, Shashank Anand, said in response to a tweet by a local resident who complained of chaos at the mall "due to some mock drill".

Anand also advised people not to panic as the situation is being "closely monitored" and to cooperate with the security agencies.

With inputs from IANS

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also, download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get the latest updates