The office of Delhi Mayor Raja Iqbal in Central Delhi’s Civic Centre received a bomb threat via an email on Wednesday, prompting authorities to carry out a search, an official said. The threat was, however, later declared as a hoax, police said.

The email, received on the Mayor’s official email ID on Wednesday morning, read: “Bomb blast in Mayor’s office at 2.11.”

The Civic Centre, a multi-storey building in the Kamla Market area, was evacuated after the mail was received. The local police were informed, and a search operation was carried out with the assistance of the Bomb Detection Team, Bomb Disposal Squad, and Dog Squad. “A search was conducted, but nothing suspicious has been found,” a senior police officer said.

Police said that the anonymous email also stated, “Delhi Banega Khalistan” and “Khalistan Sikkha De Dushman Modi-Shah-Jaishankar.”

Police suspect that the email was sent using a virtual private network (VPN) and a probe has been launched.

Spate of calls

In March, three private schools and the Barakhamba branch of Axis Bank received bomb threats via similar emails.