Two malls in Gurugram and Noida were evacuated on Saturday after they received bomb threat through emails with police later saying nothing suspicious was found following anti-sabotage checks.
The bomb threats to DLF Mall of India in Sector 18 of Noida and Ambience Mall in Gurugram came over three months after similar threats were emailed to multiple schools in the National Capital Region (NCR). The Saturday threat, which had thrown police and security personnel into a tizzy, turned out to be a hoax in the wake of upcoming Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana, which announced by the Election Commission on Friday.
Besides Delhi and NCR, the Inorbit Mall in Vashi in Navi Mumbai was also evacuated by the police after the mall’s management received a bomb threat email on Saturday afternoon.
According to Gurugram police, the Ambience Mall management received a bomb threat email at 9.27 am. The email, which was sent from hiddenbones101@gmail.com, read, “I planted bombs in the building. Every person inside the building will be killed, none of you will escape. You deserve death.
“I planted the bombs in the building because I hate my life. The people behind this attack are Paige and Nora”.
Bomb and dog squad teams were rushed to the spot. According to the police, hundreds of people were present inside the mall, but all were evacuated safely. However, after five hours of search operation, it was found a hoax call. In the afternoon, Assistant Commissioner of Police, DLF (Gurugram), Vikas Kaushik said, “The search operation at the Ambience Mall is over and nothing has been found. We are now searching for the accused who sent the threat email.” Police said efforts are being made to track the source of the email.
In an official statement issued earlier in the day, Gurugram Police appealed to the general public to not panic. So far, such emails have been found to be hoaxes meant to scare people, it said.
The mall management also increased the number of security staff after receiving an email.In connection with the matter, the police have registered a case under relevant sections of the BNSS at the cyber crime police station (East), police said. This was not the first time that the Leela hotel received a treat email.
In Noida, Additional Commissioner of Police (law and order) Shivhari Meena said searches were conducted at the DLF Mall of India following information of a bomb threat but nothing objectionable was found and the email appears to be a hoax. People were evacuated from DLF Mall of India in Sector 18 here on Saturday following a bomb threat email with police later saying that nothing was found following anti-sabotage checks.
However, the mall authorities, in a statement around 1.35 pm, said the “activity” was a security drill conducted in collaboration with Noida authorities. Several people at the mall were evacuated and movie screenings were halted midway as security checks began.
A man said in a post on X that he was watching a movie at the mall when the audiences were asked to leave. “Whole Noida DLF mall is being evacuated, called as a mock drill,” he posted on the social media platform.
In another post on the social media platform, he shared the image of a vehicle of the bomb disposal squad at the mall wondering if it was “still a mock drill”.
Later, ACP Meena said, “Because of the upcoming festivals, malls and crowded places at various locations in the Gautam Buddh Nagar Commissionerate are being checked continuously.” “Today, after receiving information via email, thorough security checks were carried out in the mall. No objectionable items were found, and the situation is normal. At first glance, the email appears to be a hoax,” he said.
All senior officials and other teams are present at the scene, the officer said, adding the mall is operating normally. In its statement, the DLF Mall of India said, “We are pleased to confirm that the mall is now open and fully operational.””The safety of our patrons is our utmost priority, and DLF is consistently dedicated to maintaining the highest security standards to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all,” it added.
On May 1 this year, panic gripped multiple schools in Delhi NCR, including Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and Faridabad, after they received emails about bombs being planted on their campuses.
