UP Police Receives Bomb Threat at Taj Mahal, Area Cordoned Off

AGRA: The Uttar Pradesh government on March 4 reacting on a phone call briefly shut down the iconic Taj Mahal and evacuated all the tourists from the site on March 4.

According to reports, the police received information from the control room that a bomb is kept at the Taj Mahal premises and claimed to explode soon.

Further, the call was received by a person at the 112 emergency response number of the Uttar Pradesh Police.

Meanwhile, all the tourists present inside the premises were evacuated immediately and a massive search operation was launched.

"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," said A Satish Ganesh, Inspector General, Agra.

According to the reports, the call was reportedly made from UP's Ferozabad and efforts are on to trace the caller at the moment.

All possible locations in and around the Taj Mahal are being checked by the CISF, Agra police and a bomb disposal squad has also been called at the spot.

In the past too, an unidentified caller had said there was a bomb at the Taj Mahal. Police and security agencies searched thoroughly for the bomb but it later turned out to be a hoax.

The lights around the Taj Mahal were put on and sniffer dogs were also brought in. All possible locations in and around the Taj Mahal were checked but nothing was found and the search operation was called off.

The monument is conserved by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and protected by armed personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

The Taj Mahal was reopened for tourists last September with strict coronavirus safety guidelines after being shut for over six months. It had been closed since March 17 last year due to the pandemic.

The ivory-white marble mausoleum attracts seven million visitors each year with a large number of foreign tourists. The Taj and other monuments in Agra, including the Agra Fort. contribute massively to the revenue of Uttar Pradesh.

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