Shut briefly over hoax bomb call, Taj reopens

Agra, March 4 The Taj Mahal was briefly shut and tourists evacuated on Thursday morning after the Uttar Pradesh Police received a call about a bomb at the monument. It turned out to be a hoax, police said.

The call was made to the police helpline following which the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel got the the 17th-century monument vacated.

Authorities conducted thorough checks following the bomb threat.

Entry for tourists resumed a little after 11 a.m. A senior police officer said no bomb was found.

The hoax call, meanwhile, has been traced to Firozabad, official sources said.

A Satish Ganesh, Inspector General, 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."

The Taj Mahal 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.

( With inputs from IANS )