Hoax bomb threat by postal letter creates panic in city

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Chaos ensued at a popular hotel in Jalahalli on Monday morning after the staff allegedly received an anonymous letter containing a threat to blow up the place.

According to sources, the staff of Kadamba Gardenia hotel read the letter around 11:50 am after which they immediately alerted the jurisdictional police.

The cops arrived at the hotel and evacuated all the customers as a necessary precaution.

The area was cordoned off and a bomb-detection & disposal squad began searching for suspicious items in the premises. However, the teams could not find any explosives in the hotel and termed the threat to be a 'hoax'.

A senior official from the Jalahalli Police Station said that the threat letter also contained derogatory remarks towards the Bengaluru police.

The accused who wrote and sent the letter claimed the responsibility for the low-density blast at the Rameshwaram Cafe using a battery-operated Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

The letter, which was written in English, ominously warned of a potential similar attack at Hotel Kadamba.

Reacting to the hoax letter, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru North, Saidulu Adavath said, "Prima facie, it is suspected that an unsound person from Mysuru had sent this letter through post. We are continuing with the investigation and the matter will be revealed after the cause and details surrounding this matter is ascertained," he said.

The letter surfaced after around 52 days of the lowintensity blast at Rameshwaram Cafe in Brookefield which resulted in one woman suffering 33 per cent burns and eight others getting minor injuries.

Meanwhile the suspects in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast incidents were produced before a court in Bengaluru on Monday as their custody was about to expire.

In March, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, along with many other Cabinet ministers, received an email threatening large-scale blasts in the city. The email was sent to Congress ministers days after the blast at the Rameshwaram Cafe.