Lucknow: Taj Hotel receives bomb threat but turns out to be a hoax

The Taj Hotel in Lucknow received an emailed bomb threat on Monday, just a day after similar threats were received at 10 other hotels in the city. The email warned of a possible bomb inside the Taj Hotel in Hazratganj, India Today quoted police sources as saying.

All 10 hotels were thoroughly searched by bomb squads after the threats were sent on Sunday. After a thorough investigation, the law enforcement officers found the threats to be false.

On Sunday, several hotels in Lucknow, including Marriott, Saraca, Piccadily, Comfort Vista, Fortune, Lemon Tree, Clark Awadh, Casa, Dayal Gateway and Silvette, received bomb threats via email. The message warned of an explosion unless a ransom of $55,000 (about Rs 4.6 lakh) was paid.

“Bombs are hidden in black bags on the premises of your hotel. I want $55,000 or I’ll detonate the explosives and blood will spread everywhere. Any attempt to defuse the bombs will result in their detonation,” the bomb threat email said.

The incident followed bomb threats sent two days earlier to three hotels in the temple area of ​​Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati district. The explosives were again deployed at the Taj Hotel for a thorough inspection and security check. The authorities are currently investigating the origin of the e-mail.

Recently, a bomb exploded near a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) school in Delhi. This was followed by an email blasting threats to all CRPF schools across the country on Monday night. An email warned of the explosions by 11 a.m. Tuesday. Authorities launched an immediate investigation, later confirming the threat as a hoax.

Delhi has two CRPF schools located in Rohini and Dwarka. An explosion near Rohini School in Prashant Vihar on Sunday morning damaged shops and vehicles nearby, but no one was injured.