Bomb hoax at ITPL sends police into tizzy

Bomb hoax at ITPL sends police into tizzy
Deccan Herald

The police were put on high alert following a security official at the Information and Technology Park Limited (ITPL) on the outskirts of the City receiving a bomb threat through e-mail on Monday evening.

The police were put on high alert following a security official at the Information and Technology Park Limited (ITPL) on the outskirts of the City receiving a bomb threat through e-mail on Monday evening.

The e-mail said that a bomb was planted in the premises. Following a complaint filed by ITPL Security-in-charge Ranjith Singh that he received an e-mail around 3.30 pm, stating that explosives would go off at one of the offices housed in the Park, police sealed off both the entries of the building and conducted a thorough search. The dog and bomb disposal squads were pressed into service.

Nearly 8,000 employees of various IT offices located in the building were evacuated and vehicles parked in the premises thoroughly checked. According to a senior police officer, the search of the premises took nearly three hours. No explosives were found, he said. The e-mail was a hoax, he added.

The e-mail is said to have originated from an ID, surmakumari@rediff.com of one Kamal Basheer Baksh.

S Poojari, a software engineer working for an IT firm in the ITPL said, there was an announcement made on the inhouse address system to leave the building as soon as possible.

“We were told a little latter that there was a bomb threat. Many of us left for our homes after waiting for nearly two hours,” Mr Poojari said.

“I first heard the announcement of a bomb scare at 3.45 pm in my 9th floor office, where everyone were told to leave,” said N Anand, Engineering Services Manager, Misis International Financial Systems.

“Within a few minutes, thousands of people swarmed to the ground floor. Despite the crowd, there was no panic and no traffic jam. Most were out of the premises within 15-20 minutes. I knew it was a hoax, but I did not want to take any risks,” he said, adding, “I left to my home after sometime.”

Abhinita, Student, Institute of Bio-informatics and Applied Bio-technology said, “We were having tea at a restaurant on the ground floor when we received the warning through the public address system. We were told to leave with our belongings immediately. The security personnel were already in place, guiding the public. However, many curious onlookers continued to stay, waiting to see what happens next. But we left.”

Inspector of police Whitefield, Somanna said that the e-mail is being traced. It has been forwarded to Cyber Cell at the Corps of Detectives for further investigation, he added. Most of the employees except the security incharge and systems administers who were to handle security and electronics stayed back, he said.

Gokuldas Exports on Mission Road also received a bomb threat call which turned out to be hoax.