Police ultimately caught up with a youngster who made hundreds of prank calls to police control room and ‘108’ stating that bombs had been planted at several places or reporting of false suicides and accidents in Hyderabad.
The youngster, identified as Gongati Raju of East Godavari district, was arrested and handed over to Narayanguda police for prosecution by the Commissioner’s Task Force which was entrusted with the task of nabbing him. The prankster, police said, works as an office boy in a construction company in Banjara Hills.
According to Additional DCP P. Rameshaiah, Raju found an active SIM card on the road in January. He began making prank calls to the control room stating that he had planted bombs at Assembly, Charminar, Birla Mandir and several other places. He had also made a call to control room to claim that he had planted a bomb to kill former Minister P. Shankar Rao too.
Subsequently, he began using different SIM cards to call 108 and 100. He used to inform the ambulance services that someone had committed suicide or someone needing medical assistance. Sometimes, he called up 108 to report false accidents. Vexed with the repeated prank calls, the North Zone task force personnel were detailed to nab him, Mr. Rameshaiah said. The staff located him in Banjara Hills and arrested him. Inspector A.P. Anand Kumar led the investigations.
