LUCKNOW: Panic gripped Lucknow when nine prominent hotels of the city received bomb threats demanding a ransom of Rs 50 lakh here on Sunday morning. The email sent around 8.03 am, claimed that explosive devices were planted in black bags across all the hotel premises. The sender warned that any attempt to defuse the bombs would lead to mass casualties, prompting an immediate emergency response. Following the threats, the Lucknow police called in the Cyber Cell to trace the email’s origin while bomb disposal and dog squads (BDDS) were deputed to begin a large-scale operation to clear the hotels of potential danger. The hotels mentioned in the threatening email are situated in posh areas of the state capital city including Gomtinagar, Hazratganj, Sarojininagar, Alambagh and Krishnanagar. Meanwhile, the targeted hotels, as a measure of precaution, ramped up their security under police guidance while a citywide heightened alert was imposed. The mail originated from Adam Lanza Sandyhookchildkilling@outlook.com with the subject line mentioned as — ‘bombs in the hotel.’ “Bombs are hidden in black bags on the ground of your hotel. I want $55,000, or I will detonate the explosives and blood will spread everywhere. Any attempt at defusing the bombs WILL detonate them. To pay the ransom, contact me on my primary email address: shaikha.nasser20077@gmail.com,” the email read. One of the hotels that received the threatening email promptly responded with a thorough security check, according to the Finance Controller and Security Head of the facility.”With around 107 rooms and 70 guests staying at the time, we quickly activated our comprehensive surveillance system,” said the hotel authorities adding that they had their own Digital Multi-Function Detector to scan all critical areas, to ensure the safety of guests and staff. Later the Krishnanagar police was also informed about the mail. Assistant Commissioner of police, Hazratganj, Arvind Kumar, confirmed that a threat email was received at nine hotels and they have roped in cyber cell to detect the location and identity of the origination point and place. “Simultaneously, all the precautionary measures including bomb disposal and detection squad, have been put in place to conduct intense checking on hotel premises,” he added.
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