Bomb hoax causes a flutter; youth detained

Caller says it was a prank and apologises to the police

October 05, 2012 02:34 pm | Updated October 18, 2016 03:08 pm IST - Thiruvananthapuram

The Cantonment police detained a 20-year-old youth in connection with the bomb hoax that caused quite a flutter in railway stations, bus stands, and crowded market places in the city on Thursday.

The police said they received the “threatening call” at the control room around 4.45 p.m. The caller claimed to have placed bombs at all “crowded places” in the city.

The call emanated from a mobile phone. Control room officials immediately called back on the number. They said it was attended by a man who claimed the call was a prank and apologised to the police for being a nuisance.

However, the police took no chances and ordered a full-fledged anti-sabotage check at Thampanoor and Veil railway stations, important market places, bus terminals, and shopping malls. The checks, which commenced at 4.50 p.m. concluded only at night. The anti-sabotage check, which involved police dogs and explosive experts wielding sophisticated bomb detection equipment, caught shoppers and pedestrians by surprise.

Railways checked platforms for unclaimed baggage and other suspicious looking articles. They also scoured the tracks.

Meanwhile, a police team triangulated the position of the caller and located his house. They entered the residence and arrested a man who was present there. The police said the youth claimed innocence and said a friend of his could have misused his mobile phone to make the prank call without his knowledge. A police team has gone to Pangode in the outskirts of the city to detain the youth’s friend. So far, the police have arrested no one in connection with the incident.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.