10 hotels in Lucknow get bomb threats via e-mail, demand for $55,000 ransom

The hotels that received the bomb threat are Marriott, Saraca, Piccadily, Comfort Vista, Fortune, Lemon Tree, Clark Awadh, Casa, Dayal Gateway, and Silvette. 

In Short

• $55,000 ransom demanded to avoid explosions
• Hotels like Marriott and Lemon Tree among those targeted
• Police begin investigation after threats reported

At least 10 major hotels in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow, mostly premium properties, received bomb threats via emails on Sunday. The email threatened that the explosion would take place if the ransom demand of $55,000 (Rs 4,624,288) is not met.

"Bombs are hidden in black bags on the grounds of your hotel. I want $55,000, or I will detonate the explosives and blood will spread everywhere. Any attempt at defusing the bombs will detonate them," reads the bomb threat email.

The hotels that received bomb threats are Marriott, Saraca, Piccadily, Comfort Vista, Fortune, Lemon Tree, Clark Awadh, Casa, Dayal Gateway, and Silvette.

After receiving the threat, hotel management informed the police, prompting swift investigations by local authorities.

This came two days after three hotels in the temple area of Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati district received bomb threats. The email said that "international pressure" had mounted due to the arrest of Jaffer Sadiq and that "such blats (sic) in schools are necessary to divert the attention away from MK Stalin family's involvement in the case."

Last month, the Taj West End Hotel in Bengaluru also received a bomb threat email. It led to the authorities bringing in the sniffer dogs and the bomb squad for inspection. However, after conduction the probe, a senior police officer said that the bomb threat was a hoax.