Times News Network

Mangalore, Oct 23:  It was a new experience for those watching a movie at a multiplex in the city when an announcement was made to vacate the hall.

Half way through the show at about 1 pm on Sunday October 22, people were told to vacate the hall under the pretext of a routine check-up.  It was later learnt that the move had followed an alleged bomb threat.  It was for the first time the citizens had such an experience.

But SP B Dayananda told The Times of India that it was a routine vigilance check that the anti-bomb squad conducts regularly in different places.

Earlier too we have conducted this type of check-ups in different places like railway stations and bus stands.

This time, the multiplex was chosen, he said. He denied that the check-up was carried out following the bomb threat.

An eye witness said that the screening of the film stopped and the police conducted  checking with a sniffer dog.

After checking for few minutes they went off, she said, adding that for a while they were unaware of what was happening.