A 24-year-old autistic man had the Gurgaon Police on their toes for more than an hour after he made a hoax call about a bomb at The Leela Hotel in Ambience Mall Complex in Gurugram this morning.
At first the phone from which the call was received initially was switched off, but several hours later, the caller was traced, and it turned out to be a man with Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD, admitted in a hospital in Sector 47, Gurgaon, the police said.
The call led to the evacuation of the entire hotel and sent the police in an over one-and-half-an-hour-long tizzy, during which they searched the Leela hotel for the bomb with a bomb squad and sniffer dogs, in the end declaring the call a hoax.
"Nothing suspicious was found in the hotel premises and the call was a hoax made by a mentally challenged man. An FIR is being registered against the caller and further action will be taken as per the law," said Virender Vij, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East).
The call was received at The Leela Hotel located in the Ambiance Mall complex at around 11.35 am this morning. The hotel immediately informed the police, which dispatched bomb disposal and dog squads and evacuated the hotel.
"The hotel received a threat call today morning which was escalated to the local authorities. Investigating authorities followed protocols and have sanitized the hotel . We are providing full support to the investigating agencies and after a thorough check, the hotel has been cleared by authorities to resume normal operations," a hotel spokesperson had said.
A senior police officer said that mobile which was used to make the call was found switched off when they tried to call back. They traced the mobile's location to a hospital in Gurgaon's Sector 47, belonging to an autistic patient who is undergoing treatment.
Advertisement"He was found to be autistic and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Gurugram," read the official statement of Gurugram police.
