Man tries ‘to fix’ cousin with terror hoax call, arrested

MUMBAI: A 47-year-old resident of Ahmednagar has been arrested for allegedly calling the Mumbai police control room last week and giving false information that three Pakistani terrorists had landed in the city via Dubai, according to Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). The man made the hoax call “to fix” one of his cousins with whom he had a property dispute, said the police.

The accused had shared the name and the phone numbers of a ‘suspect’ during the hoax call. It was later found out that the ‘suspect’ was his cousin, with whom he had a property dispute.

The accused, Yasin Sayed, had called the main police control room on April 7, around 12:05 pm, identifying himself as Raja Thonge and claimed that three persons with links to Pakistan had reached Mumbai from Dubai and intended to carry out a terror strike, ATS said in a press note issued on Friday.

Sayed also shared a ‘suspect’s’ name and his three mobile numbers and claimed that the person named by him was involved in various illegal businesses, added the release.

After the call, Mumbai police registered a case at Azad Maidan police station and started investigation. Based on the call data records of the number from which the call was made and other credible information, the Nashik Unit of the ATS arrested Sayed from Bhavani Nagar in Ahmednagar.

He was brought to Mumbai after he accepted that he had given false information to the control room and he was then handed over to Azad Maidan police station, added the release.

During interrogation, ATS officials learnt that Sayed wanted to take revenge on his cousin with whom he had a dispute over a small plot of land in their native place. That’s why Sayed gave his cousin’s phone numbers and described him as a suspect, said a police officer.

Investigation revealed that the accused had purchased the SIM card, used to make the hoax call in 2013 and kept on recharging it to avoid its deactivation, added the officer.