Rajkot:

At least ten hotels in Gujarat’s Rajkot city received bomb threat emails on Saturday, which turned out to be a hoax, police said.

The hotels received emails around 12.45 pm, prompting the police to search these premises thoroughly with the bomb disposal squad (BDS), said police inspector SM Jadeja of the Special Operations Group (SOG).

He said the sender of the threat email, identifying himself as Kan Den, claimed that he had planted bombs in 10 hotels, and they would go off in a few hours.

“However, nothing suspicious was found after a search operation that lasted nearly five hours,” Jadeja said.

The search concluded around 6 pm, he said, adding that a probe is underway to trace the sender.

“I placed bombs in every location of your hotel. The bombs will go off in a few hours. Many innocent lives will be lost today. Hurry up and evacuate the hotel,” the email stated.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Vadodara:

A teenage girl was allegedly raped by unidentified persons, who restrained her male friend, on a deserted stretch on the outskirts of Gujarat’s Vadodara city, police said on Saturday.

The alleged crime was committed on a Navratri night when revellers come out in large numbers to participate in garba events organised throughout the city.

The survivor told the police that she had gone out to meet her childhood male friend at the city’s Laxmipura area at around 11 pm, said Rohan Anand, Superintendent of Police – Vadodara (rural).

“They were returning through the Bhayli locality on a Scooty when at around midnight, five persons on two-wheelers intercepted them on an isolated road,” the police officer said.

Two of them left after some argument, while three others remained. Of these three, two individuals raped the teenage girl, while the third person restrained her male friend, he said.

“As soon as the culprits left, the teens informed the police. Cops reached the spot, cordoned off the area and collected evidence. Teams have been formed to identify the culprits using technical surveillance and other means,” Anand said.

The Gujarat government has lifted restrictions on garba celebration timings for this year’s Navratri festival.

In a similar crime, a 21-year-old woman was allegedly raped by three unidentified persons, who also tied her male friend using his clothes and belt and assaulted him, at an isolated place on the outskirts of Pune in Maharashtra on Thursday night, police had said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)