With security stepped up ahead of Independence Day, the Chandigarh Police Operations Cell on Saturday conducted a mock drill simulating a bomb threat at the Hyatt Hotel in Industrial Area Phase I to assess the city’s emergency response preparedness.The exercise was conducted under the leadership of SP (Operations) Geetanjali Khandelwal and supervised by DSP (Operations) Ranjodh Singh. It began with simulated information about a suspected explosive device on the hotel premises. Operations Cell commandos immediately cordoned off and evacuated the hotel, while HIT teams, the bomb detection squad and dog squad carried out a coordinated search.During the operation, teams located a dummy Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in an open area near the RBR Building. The premises were then thoroughly sanitised to rule out the presence of any additional threats.The drill involved quick reaction teams, PCR units, Dial-112, the fire brigade, civil defence, the mobile forensic team, the district crime cell, the crime branch, Industrial Area police station, and ambulance services from GMSH-16 and the Police Hospital, Sector 26.The dummy device was transported in a sandbag vehicle to the open grounds of Police Lines, Sector 26, under PCR escort, where it was disposed of in accordance with standard operating procedures. A final sanitisation of the hotel premises was carried out before the exercise concluded successfully.Police said such mock drills are conducted regularly to strengthen inter-agency coordination and enhance preparedness for emergency situations, especially in the run-up to Independence Day celebrations