After containing the panic on the day of the blasts on Thursday, the police had to handle hoax bomb threats in various parts of the city the next day.
The police have sternly warned miscreants of severe action if they made such false claims and spread rumours.
Police sources said that around 9.30 a.m., the police control room at the Commissionerate at Vepery received an anonymous call that an explosive device planted at Express Avenue Mall at Royapettah will go off in some time.
Bomb disposal squads were mobilised, along with local police teams. Staff members and shoppers were evacuated from the premises. The mall was cordoned off with no entry for shoppers. “Police personnel visited the mall at 10.15 a.m. and asked us to leave. All employees waited at the gate,” said K. Sasidaran, an employee of an outlet.
Following an hour-long inspection of the area in and around the mall, authorities declared the threat a hoax.
Another call was received by the city police during the early hours of Friday, stating that there was a bomb at the Avadi railway station. “The call was from a public booth at Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar. Officers of the Government Railway Police, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the city police checked the station from morning to 6 p.m. We found nothing,” said GRP Inspector S. Sekar.
In another case, an anonymous call about a bomb planted in a private college for women at T. Nagar was received around 10.30 a.m. A bomb disposal team rushed to the spot after college authorities alerted the police. A thorough inspection of the campus revealed that it was yet another hoax, the sources added.
The city police have launched a search for the callers. Commissioner of Police J.K. Tripathy has said severe action will be taken against such persons and those spreading rumours that could disrupt public order.
The police have also advised the residents to alert the police control room in case they come across suspicious objects, vehicles or even persons indulging in suspicious activity.
