Two crowded shopping malls in Gurgaon were on Friday evacuated and scoured by emergency personnel after a bomb scare triggered panic in this suburban township, but it later turned out to be a routine security drill.

The MGF Metropolitan Mall and DT City Centre Mall were completely evacuated by the district police in Gurgaon as part of the mock drill, which began on Friday afternoon.

Talking to reporters after the exercise, Senior Suprintendent of Police Hanif Qureshi said the entire excercise was a mock drill and that there was no need to panic.

This is just a practice search to prepare us for any eventuality, he said.

He said that the drill will also be conducted in commercial establishments, bus stands, railway stations, post offices and other leading malls where people tend to congregate.

The drill entailed a complete shutdown of shops and entry of all vehicles in the area was banned.