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On Chandigarh’s Elante Mall bomb threat, police say it was a hoax
Chandigarh’s Elante Mall bomb threat: Police said they did not find an explosive as claimed by an unidentified caller and were registering a FIR against the person.
A bomb threat at one of largest shopping destinations in Chandigarh, Elante Mall, was a hoax, a senior police officer said on Monday evening after scores of security personnel search the popular shopping centre for more than four hours.
The Chandigarh police said a thorough search operation had been carried out in and around Elante Mall.
“It is now confirmed that there is no bomb or any other threat in Elante Mall. Search operation has finished and mall is open to public,” Nilambari Jagadale, Chandigarh’s senior superintendent of police, said. She added all field units of Chandigarh police had been deployed to scan the complex.
The mall was evacuated earlier on Monday after the Chandigarh police control room received a phone call at about 1.15 pm, claiming that a bomb had been planted in Elante Mall.
Hundreds of people, who were in the mall that has a footfall in excess of one lakh people on holidays and weekends, were panicked when they were ordered off the complex as part of the evacuation exercise by the police.
Senior Chandigarh police officer Nilambari Jagadale, who was overseeing the search operation, responded to this sentiment with multiple appeals to maintain calm. “Professional teams are on the job. We will inform people about the outcome of the search. The intention is not to inconvenience anyone. But when some information comes, we have to thoroughly verify it,” the Chandigarh SSP said.
After the search – each of the 220-plus shops in the complex besides the cinema halls – were scanned, the Chandigarh police made it clear that they were turning their attention on the caller who made the hoax call.
The person who made the bomb phone call had refused to identify himself, a statement by the Chandigarh police spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said efforts to trace the caller were still on since the person had made the phone call over the voice over internet protocol. “Hence, it may take time to identify the caller,” the police said.
A police statement said the caller, who supplied false information to Chandigarh police control room, is being booked under relevant provisions of law.
“Chandigarh police is close to identifying this fake caller who used VOIP to place this call,” the statement said.
Elante mall, built by Larsen & Toubro in 2013 with an investment of over Rs 1,700 crore, is home to nearly 235 retail outlets and is a part of a 21-acre complex.
In a statement, the Elante mall management said the mall had worked with the police after a report of an unclaimed object, which could have been a bomb hoax, was received. “All the people, including the shoppers and staff members, are absolutely safe,” the mall said in a statement.
