Now, a hoax bomb threat to Raj Bhavan

Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bengaluru: Hoax calls continue to be a headache for the City Police here. While the probe into the mysterious case of email threats sent to around 68 schools in the city is still underway, another hoax call was made on Monday night claiming that a bomb has been planted at the premises of Raj Bhavan.

Following an extensive search, the Bengaluru Police however concluded that the call was most likely a hoax. Speaking to News Trail on Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central Division, Shekar H Tekkannavar, said that an unidentified man called the National Investigation Agency (NIA) control room on Monday around 12 am claiming that a bomb had been planted at the Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru.

The DCP further said that the call was made from a mobile phone, and that the caller spoke in English.

The NIA control room immediately alerted their counterparts in Bengaluru following which a police team was dispatched along with the bomb disposal squad (BDS) and sniffer dog squad. After a thorough search, the call was declared a hoax.

According to reports, Karnataka governor Thawar Chand Gehlot was in Belagavi at the time. Bengaluru police have ascertained that the call was made from North Karnataka's Bidar district, which shares a border with neighbouring state Maharashtra. However, efforts are on to trace the culprit.

"We have some clues regarding the caller. We are trying to track him down," Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda said.

Hoax bomb threats are serious offences: Bengaluru Police The police can charge such troublemakers for creating fear or alarm among general public under Section 505-B of the Indian Penal Code which is a non-bailable offence.

A senior officer said that while a hoax call, email or post about a bomb threat may lead to life imprisonment of the accused, the police may also invoke cyber terror provisions against him additionally.

“We live in an age where individuals do not think twice before threatening to kill, maim or hurt the dignity of another simply because of one’s anger or sadistic attitude. It is essential to know that making threat calls to someone is a criminal offense in our country,” a senior police officer on the condition of anonymity told News Trail.

Offence against public tranquility

There is a long list of instances where individuals in Bengaluru were booked for issuing hoax bomb threats to private organisations, schools, police stations, the airport and other government offices in the last two years.

1. March 2022: A 12-year-old PUBG addicted boy made a hoax call about a bomb being planted at the Yelahanka Railway Station to delay the departure of his classmate.

2. April 2022: At least six schools received hoax bomb threat mails. Origin of the mails was suspected to be the United States.

3. December 2022: A 20-year-old engineering student was booked for posting a tweet claiming that he would bomb Bengaluru airport so that a new airport would be built closer to the city.

4. In Jan 2023, a minor student was booked for allegedly sending a bomb threat email to a school in Rajajinagar.

5. A worker of a US-based IT firm in Bengaluru was booked for allegedly making a hoax bomb threat call to his office located in RMZ Ecospace Business Park.

6. On November 14, a former female employee made a false bomb threat call to the TCS office after they refused to re-appoint her.

7. Around 68 schools received hoax bomb threat mails in the city.

8. On December 3, a woman allegedly sent a threat message to the police and NIA control room using her husband’s mobile phone, claiming series of blasts in the city