Bomb scare at Taj Mahal after hoax call; Firozabad man detained: Police

Senior officers said the situation was normal and visitors’ entry to the monument resumed soon after.

Police were questioning the accused, Vimal Kumar Singh, said a senior officer.

IG Agra Range A Satish Ganesh said, “…The initial assessment is that the person who made the hoax call is not mentally sound and is undergoing treatment. Singh did not know who he was calling.” He added that Singh has confessed to making the call.

“The call came around 9 am. We did not evacuate the tourists who were present there. As it was a weekday, the footfall was not that high. We stopped visitors’ entry for around half an hour when the search was conducted along with a bomb disposal squad. No bomb was found, and now the situation is back to normal,” said Circle Officer (Sadar) Rajeev Kumar Singh, who was heading the police team, which conducted the search along with CISF and ASI officials.

According to SP (Protocol) Shiv Ram Yadav, the caller said he was not selected in the Army as there were “irregularities” in the recruitment drive.

“We received information through the control room that a person had called to say that he was from Loha Mandir area and that there are issues with the Army recruitment drive. He also said that he was not recruited. He added a bomb has been placed in the Taj Mahal and will explode soon. We alerted the CISF and a search operation was launched under the leadership of Circle Officer (Sadar),” said Yadav.

Agra SSP Babloo Kumar said the information was received from a mobile number, which has been traced to Firozabad district, nearly 50 km from Agra. “A team comprising CISF, ASI and civil police conducted a search operation with a bomb disposal squad around the Taj Mahal,” said Kumar.