After sounding a high alert, and thorough security checks at the Taj Hotel and the Mumbai airport, the Mumbai police have termed telephone calls that warned of a terror attacks as a hoax.
“There is a standard operating procedure after such calls, and we have completed security checks and found that there is no evidence to suggest an imminent attack,” a senior Mumbai police official told The Hindu .
The Taj Hotel, which faced a terror attack in 2008, also issued a statement. "The Mumbai police conducted a thorough security check and have confirmed the call to be a hoax. We continue to be highly vigilant at all times to ensure safety and security of our guests," the Taj’s spokesperson said.
The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport as well as the Taj Hotel were put on high alert after airport authorities received a call shortly before midnight on Monday, informing that the two locations could face an attack by a group of four to five suicide bombers. Security at both the domestic and international terminals of CSIA was beefed up. Bomb threat assessment committee of CSIA has termed the call as 'specific threat' and bomb squad was deployed after the call and a massive search-cum-screening exercise was taken up.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 8) Virendra Mishra, the caller identified himself as Andheri resident Vishesh Kumar. It is unclear if the police managed to trace and question Mr. Kumar.
