Highlights:
- UP Police receives a call on Thursday morning about an explosive device placed at the Taj Mahal
- Taj Mahal, which is one of the 7 wonders of the world, was temporarily shut down
- All the tourists were evacuated from the 17th century’s iconic monument
One of the 7 wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal, in Agra, Uttar Pradesh was temporarily shut down and the tourists were evacuated after a bomb scare call triggered panic on Thursday morning.
The Police Department of Uttar Pradesh received a call about some explosive device placed at the 17th century’s iconic monument. The call was reportedly made to the UP police helpline.
An anonymous call on the 112 emergency response number of the UP police at around 9:00 AM had claimed that a bomb was kept inside the monument that is conserved by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and protected by armed personnel of the CISF (Central Industrial Security Force), according to a PTI report.
Security agencies, including the UP Police and CISF, which are deployed there, are conducting anti-sabotage checks following the bomb threat.
Satish Ganesh, Inspector General (IG), Agra said, “This morning, an unknown person called on UP 112 and said there will be a bomb blast at the Taj Mahal. Immediately, as per SOP, our bomb squad and other teams conducted a thorough search of the premises. So far, our field units haven’t given any information of such an item being found”.
“I’d like to assure everyone that 99%, it is a hoax call. But we are following the drill.”
Shiv Ram Yadav, Superintendent of Police (SP) (Protocol), Agra, said, “We’d received info from control room that a man called them up saying that there are discrepancies in military recruitment & he wasn’t recruited. A Bomb is kept at Taj Mahal which will explode soon. Security check is being done around Taj Mahal”.
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“Nothing suspicious has been found and the checks are almost done,” a senior CISF officer said in Delhi.
Bomb Disposal Squad & other teams carried out extensive search at Taj Mahal premises. No such object has been found yet. Man who called up to give info (of bomb) will soon be traced. I’d like to assure you that there’s 99% chances of it being hoax call: A Satish Ganesh, IG Agra pic.twitter.com/MfkmwBrBoA
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 4, 2021
We’d received info from control room that a man called them up saying that there are discrepancies in military recruitment & he wasn’t recruited. A Bomb is kept at Taj Mahal which will explode soon. Security check is being done around Taj Mahal: Shiv Ram Yadav, SP (Protocol) Agra pic.twitter.com/crr8x8sb43
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 4, 2021
Another official said that the bomb threat call was traced back to Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh, another officer said.
Taking precautionary measures, all the tourists present inside the 7th century iconic monument were immediately evacuated a little after 11:00 AM.
This is not the first time an incident like this has happened, in the past, an unidentified caller had said there was a bomb at the Taj Mahal.
Authorities searched thoroughly for the bomb at the premise, however, it later turned out to be a hoax.
In September 2020, the Taj Mahal was reopened for tourists with strict COVID-19 safety guidelines after being shut for tourists for over 6 months since 17 March due to the nationwide lockdown imposed due to the pandemic.
