Drill at temple sparks rumours of terror attack

PANCHKULA: A mock drill by Panchkula police at the Hanuman Mandir in Sector 25 triggered rumours of a terrorist attack there. The mock drill was conducted around 3pm on Thursday.
The sudden arrival of cops made the residents suspect there was a terrorist attack in the city.
'I was returning home after picking them up from school, when I saw cops rushing towards the Hanuman temple, which scared us.I made a phone call to my husband, but soon realized that it was just a drill,' said Ruchi Sehgal, a resident of Sector 25.
After an 'alert' from the police control room regarding a 'terrorist attack', on the Hanuman temple, sub-inspectors of CIA staff Harvinder and Narinder rushed to the temple in Sector 25.
SHO of Mansa Devi Complex, Sector 4 police station, Dalip Singh and deputy superintendent of police, Ramchander Rathi were next to reach the spot.
However, not even a single official from the administration reached the spot while cops from Ramgarh police station were the last to reach.
Panchkula SP Maneesh Chaudhary, who had ordered the drill said, 'The mock drill was a routine exercise to check the alertness of the police department. It is a necessary exercise as criminal gangs are increasing by the day. We will keep on doing more such exercises, so that cops at various police stations remain alert.'