Mangaluru, 4 June

A bomb threat call made to a private medical college hospital here caused panic on Wednesday, prompting an emergency response from the police and bomb disposal squad.

The threat call was later confirmed to be a hoax.

According to officials, an unidentified caller made a threat over the phone to Kanachur Medical College near Deralakatte in Ullal taluk, claiming that a bomb had been planted on the premises. The college comes under Konaje police station limits.

Authorities immediately evacuated people from the hospital and informed the bomb detection and disposal squad (BDDS), who came along with sniffer dogs and police personnel.

After searching for hours, the threat was declared false.

Konaje police have registered a case. Preliminary investigation suggested that the call was made from a mobile phone, and technical teams are now examining call records to identify the source, a senior police officer said.

Kanachur Medical College is one of the key medical institutions in the region, located in coastal Dakshina Kannada district, which borders Kerala.