Gurugram, Aug 17 (IANS): An email threat created panic at Leela Hotel in Gurugram’s Ambience Mall on Saturday, but it later turned out to be a hoax, police said.

The Leela Ambience, a five-star hotel located on the Delhi-Gurugram border, received a bomb threat email on Saturday, triggering panic at the premises.

"The mall management received a hoax email around 9.27 a.m. on Saturday by an unknown person. The suspect, in his email, claimed that a bomb had been planted inside the mall and that soon, everyone on the premises would be killed. Police reached the hotel, evacuated it and started an investigation," Vikas Kaushik, ACP (DLF) told IANS.

According to the police, hundreds of people were present inside the mall, but all were evacuated safely.

However, after five hours of search operation, it was found a hoax call.

“It was an unknown email. The sender said a bomb would explode in the (Ambience) mall. Every person will be killed. No one would escape because they deserve death. I hate my life. The people behind this attack are, Paige and Nora," said a senior police officer requesting anonymity.

The police were immediately alerted, after which a dog squad and Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) rushed to the spot, and evacuated people from the hotel.

The BDDS checked the entire hotel and its surroundings, the police said.

The mall management also increased the number of security staff after receiving an email.

This was not the first time that the Leela Ambience received a treat email. Earlier in September 2022, the Leela Hotel had received a threat call in which the caller had claimed that a bomb had been planted.

Police then reached the hotel, evacuated it and started an investigation. The caller was found to be a 24-year-old mentally ill person.

He was found to be suffering from Autism and was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Gurugram.