The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Hoax calls keep police on tenterhooks

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Saturday, Nov 25, 2006
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Hoax calls keep police on tenterhooks

The hoax calls are putting tremendous pressure on the police and also inconveniencing the public, writes K.V. Subramanya

THE SPATE of anonymous calls about explosives being planted at public places, commercial centres and educational institutions have put the Bangalore police under tremendous pressure and also caused inconvenience to the people.

An analysis of hoax calls shows that miscreants have been mainly creating false bomb scare soon after a terrorist attack or when there are reports in the media about threats of a possible sabotage by militant outfits.

A few days ago, a person called the Police Control Room stating that a bomb had been planted at Bangalore Airport. He made the call two days after security was tightened at airports in south India following a threat of a terrorist attack.

After the Mysore police unearthed Al-Badr's plot to attack the Vidhana Soudha and Vikasa Soudha, a miscreant called the Legislators' Home, adjoining the Vidhana Soudha, and created a scare that a bomb had been planted in the building.

After the serial blasts at railway stations and trains in Mumbai in July, miscreants created a bomb scare in Bangalore nearly 20 times, either by making telephone calls or sending SMS through mobile phones.

The calls/messages related to planting of bombs at schools, colleges, temples, business establishments, malls and government offices. The bomb scare affected work at several institutions, and schools were forced to suspend classes.

According to a senior police officer, the hoax calls have put pressure on the police as they have to reach the spot immediately and conduct sabotage checks. The bomb scare creates anxiety among people. They feel reassured only after the police conduct searches and convince them that call was a hoax, he explains.

As there has been an increase in hoax calls of late, the police are seriously after those who are indulging in such mischief. In recent months, the police have arrested at least four people, including two students and a security guard of a commercial complex, on charges of making hoax calls. The arrests would deter the other pranksters from indulging in such acts, he feels.

Explaining the hardships they face whenever such calls are received, the police say that mobilising the personnel of the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad and the tracker dogs takes time as they are based at different places.

Further, the police cannot take chances by ignoring such calls, as if something untoward happens, there will be loss of life and damage to property. While mischief mongers are taking the police for a ride by making such hoax calls, the police have not been able to identify most of the callers, who normally make calls from public call offices.

Earlier, the Police Control Room received many such calls. With the installation of the caller identification device there, pranksters are now calling schools, offices, banks, and business establishments.

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