Thorough search of 2.5 million square feet area
Shoppers coming out of Lulu mall after security personnel evacuated people from the mall premises following a bomb threat in Kochi on Friday (Photo: Deccan Chronicle)
Kochi: The Lulu Mall in Kochi was closed for the day on Friday following repeated bomb threats over the phone by an anonymous caller. Police, including the bomb squad, reached the spot and evacuated people before undertaking a thorough search of the over 2.5 million sq ft mall area including the parking space.
“We have conducted a thorough search of the building but found nothing suspicious”, said Xavier Sebastian assistant commissioner of police Thrikkakkara who led the search team of officials. The search was called off around 6.30 pm after nearly six hours, he added.
“We have not identified the person behind the call, he said. The call was made from a telephone number of the service provider Tata Docomo”, Sebastian said.
According to Shibu Philips, business head of Lulu Mall, the first call was received around 11.56 am by the receptionist. The caller said that a bomb was placed in the mall which would be activated anytime after the call. The mall authorities then informed the police and the security staff of the mall undertook a search. The police and other security agencies reached the spot by 12.30 pm and began scanning the area.
The call was repeated around 1.30 pm and the threat was repeated. The caller talked both in Malayalam and English language. The final call was made around 3 pm when the search by the police was going on. The last two calls were answered by the police themselves.
The police and mall authorities evacuated the people in an orderly manner to avoid any panic. Initially, people were told that it was a mock drill to check the efficacy of the security system.
The Mall has around 230 shops and on an average 50,000 people visit the place every day. Apart from the visitors, the Mall also has 4,000 staff members.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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