Kozhikode, July 28 (IANS) Kerala reported a number of bomb scares Monday as police increased vigil following the back-to-back serial bombings in Bangalore and Ahmedabad.
In Areekode in Malappuram district, about 50 km from here, an electronic circuit connected to battery at the city's bus stand created panic among waiting commuters. Police immediately evacuated the bus stand. The bomb squad which inspected the device found there was nothing suspicious about the contraption.
The Islamic Higher Secondary School at Mathara near Kozhikode declared a holiday Monday following a hoax call. The call threatening a bomb blast came to a telephone booth near the school. The police bomb squad searched the school premises and could find no suspicious object.
'We are taking these phone calls seriously and are trying to find the persons behind these. Police will take stringent action against these people,' Kozhikode police commissioner Anoop Kuruvila John told IANS.
A train from Kochi to Kottayam was detained en-route at Thrippunithura near Kochi after passengers found two unclaimed bags inside a compartment. The police bomb squad which reached the station later shifted the bags to the railway station. Police said the bag contained sweets.
Director General of Kerala police Raman Srivatsava Sunday said the high alert would continue to be maintained in the state for the next three days following the blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad that left at least 51 people dead and over 100 injured Friday and Saturday.
