Bomb threat to home ministry office in Indian capital turns out to be hoax

NEW DELHI, May 22 (Xinhua) -- A bomb threat turned out to be a hoax after an intensive sanitization and search operation in and outside the home ministry office in the Indian capital New Delhi, officials on Wednesday said.

According to police, an email was received Wednesday by the federal home ministry's office in Delhi's North Block, claiming that explosives had been planted on office premises and the building would be blown with it.

Immediately after receiving the distress call, bomb disposal squads of police and fire tenders were rushed to the ministry office, but nothing suspicious was found after thorough searches of the building.

The incident is the latest among a series of hoax bomb emails that have been sent to schools, airports and hospitals in the national capital.

Besides Delhi, schools in Jaipur, Lucknow, Kanpur and Ahmedabad have received similar threats.

Authorities have been investigating the matter to trace the origin of these emails.