MUMBAI: On the eve of Ganeshotsav, a festival that witnesses heavy security arrangements and already has security agencies on their toes, a man dialled the police control room and announced that explosives were being assembled.
The police machinery went into a tizzy and rushed to the location that he had mentioned only to find that it was a hoax. The caller, Anil Sasane, 44, has been arrested. Police said Sasane had got drunk and made the call as a prank.
Around 4.10 am on Monday, the Mumbai Police Control Room received a phone call. The caller gave his name as Sasane and said that 20 to 25 men were assembling bombs at a labour camp near Ayyappa temple in Goregaon West, Sasane sought police help to nab the men.
The Control Room gave the call high priority given the upcoming festival. The Bangur Nagar police station was informed and a team rushed to the labour camp. But despite repeated checks, nothing untoward was found. The police team then tracked down the location of the caller which was in the same vicinity. Sasane was traced. But on being questioned, he started to give evasive responses. Police frisked him and found the cellphone that he had used to make the phone call to the Control Room. He later admitted that he had not witnessed any terror activity. Sasane was taken into custody. Police said he works as a driver.
A case was registered against Sasane under provisions of IPC for making a hoax call to create a disturbance in society. He lives in a chawl near the labour camp at Goregaon.
Police sources said that every bomb call has to be taken seriously and checks have to be carried out as it is a question of risk to human life. In the case of a hoax, police end up wasting precious resources and man hours.
The police machinery went into a tizzy and rushed to the location that he had mentioned only to find that it was a hoax. The caller, Anil Sasane, 44, has been arrested. Police said Sasane had got drunk and made the call as a prank.
Around 4.10 am on Monday, the Mumbai Police Control Room received a phone call. The caller gave his name as Sasane and said that 20 to 25 men were assembling bombs at a labour camp near Ayyappa temple in Goregaon West, Sasane sought police help to nab the men.
The Control Room gave the call high priority given the upcoming festival. The Bangur Nagar police station was informed and a team rushed to the labour camp. But despite repeated checks, nothing untoward was found. The police team then tracked down the location of the caller which was in the same vicinity. Sasane was traced. But on being questioned, he started to give evasive responses. Police frisked him and found the cellphone that he had used to make the phone call to the Control Room. He later admitted that he had not witnessed any terror activity. Sasane was taken into custody. Police said he works as a driver.
A case was registered against Sasane under provisions of IPC for making a hoax call to create a disturbance in society. He lives in a chawl near the labour camp at Goregaon.
Police sources said that every bomb call has to be taken seriously and checks have to be carried out as it is a question of risk to human life. In the case of a hoax, police end up wasting precious resources and man hours.
