Bomb hoax at technopark

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There were some tense moments for techies in Technopark on Wednesday morning after a suspicious bag abandoned in front of the Nila building triggered a bomb scare, which later turned out to be a hoax.The abandoned sling bag that led to the panic was filled with paper waste and a bottle, which came to light only after  a bomb squad was pressed into action and the area was cordoned off by the police. The entire staff of the Nila building were also evacuated before the bag was checked by the bomb squad. “Someone noticed an abandoned bag and informed the police thinking that it contained a bomb. Thanks to fellow techies,  soon the social networking sites and personal blogs were filled with the news of a bomb planted in Technopark, which created the panic. We were asked to vacate the building without panicking, which we did. Once the bomb squad confirmed that it was just a bag filled with garbage, tension evaporated and the whole issue became a matter of laughter,” said R Anand, working with a firm in Nila. According to the Kazhakkoottam police, the bag belonged to one Nikhil Abraham working with one of the firms in Technopark. “We received a call in the morning informing us that a suspicious bag was abandoned in Technopark near the Nila building. On inspection by the bomb squad, it was found that the bag contained waste paper.  The person wanted to dump some paper waste in a dustbin and carried it in a sling bag since he didn’t want to carry the waste in a plastic cover inside the Technopark campus. At the time of the panic, he was in his office and did not know about the scene going on outside. He was released after questioning,” police said.