The city police on Friday arrested a 30-year-old person from Mannady who made a call to the police control room threatening to bomb the U.S. Consulate here.
The control room received the call at 9.53 p.m. on Thursday. The caller threatened to blow up the high-security U.S. Consulate at 3.16 a.m.
Immediately, the message was passed on to top police officials. Police personnel rushed to the spot along with the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) and sniffer dog Aakash.
The entire campus was thoroughly checked from 10.45 p.m. to 11.50 p.m. No bomb was found inside as claimed by the caller.
In the meantime, a woman called up the control room and said that her husband had made the threat call without knowing the consequences since he was depressed. She apologised to the personnel in the control room.
The call was traced to Linghy Chetti Street in Mannady.
P. Sadhiq Basha was identified as the caller. The police summoned him and his wife for questioning.
During inquiry, he told the police that he was not able to tolerate the sight of people standing in the scorching sun for a visa. He made the call while he was consuming liquor with his friend at a Tasmac outlet, he told the police. He quit the job of a salesperson in a footwear shop three months ago, the police said.
Based on a complaint from the police control room, the Royapettah police registered a case and arrested Basha.
Duty time reduced
Meanwhile, the city police have reduced the duty time of the police personnel who guard the U.S. consulate.
Deputy Commissioner of Police P. Saravanan has instructed that the duty time of the personnel on Anna Flyover be reduced to one hour on rotation.
