Bomb scares at seven places, including the high-security state secretariat, kept Hyderabad on the edge on Monday even as the city tried to overcome the shock of Saturday’s twin blasts.
HYDERABAD,ANAND & DELHI: Bomb scares at seven places, including the high-security state secretariat, kept Hyderabad on the edge on Monday even as the city tried to overcome the shock of Saturday’s twin blasts that claimed 44 lives.
The threat call to the secretariat near Lumbini Park, where one the two bombs exploded on Saturday, sent police into a tizzy. The entire complex housing the offices of the chief minister and his cabinet colleagues was evacuated and a thorough check conducted. However, no explosives were found.
The office of the director of medical and health services in Koti also received a threat call. The office is located near Gokul Chat, the famous eatery where the other, more severe blast occurred that took 32 lives.
An unclaimed suitcase near Global Hospital at Lakdi Ka Pul also created a scare. People in the vicinity heaved a sigh of relief when the bomb disposal squad declared after a thorough check that there were no explosives.
Paradise Hotel, a popular food joint in Secunderabad, also received a hoax ‘bomb’ call.
After the May 18 blast at the historic Mecca Masjid, which had claimed nine lives, the city has received dozens of such calls. Two days before Saturday’s blasts, a few institutions here had received bomb threats. Police are probing if these calls are a diversionary tactic.
Hoax calls were also received in Anand, Gujarat, and Delhi. Manager of State Bank of India’s Anand office near D N High School received an anonymous call on Monday morning saying a bomb had been planted in the bank.
The manager alerted police who evacuated the building. No explosives were found.Another, similar call was received by principal R Goel of ASN School in Mayur Vihar, east Delhi around 11.30 am. He called said the bomb would explode at noon.
Police immediately swung into action and carried out extensive searches at the school, but found nothing.
School chairman KL Luthra said this was the third time in the past four years that the school had received such a call.
Meanwhile, several cinema theatres in Hyderabad were forced to cancel shows for the second consecutive day as police said they would not allow theatres without metal detector facilities to run the shows.
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