Out to get revenge, drunk man makes bomb hoax calls to create trouble for wife

Mumbai: Angry with his wife for leaving him a year ago, a 35-year-old man in Nallasopara called the police control room informing them of serial bomb blasts at Dadar and Kalyan railway stations to delay train services, causing problems for his wife, who travelled to Dadar for work. The man was aware of what time his wife left for work and boarded the train and therefore, he made the bomb hoax calls on Friday to cause inconvenience for his wife.

The Pelhar police on Saturday arrested the accused, identified as Vikas Umashankar Shukla, a labourer, from Om Sai Chawl in Pelhar, Nallasopara.

The police said after the call made by the accused man, they briefed the security at the stations and even carried out various checks.

“On Friday, around 11pm the Mumbai police control room, Thane police control room and Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar police control room received the bomb hoax calls claiming that there will be blasts at Dadar and Kalyan stations,” said Jeetendra Vankoti, senior police inspector of Pelhar police station.

The police then informed the Government Railway Police (GRP) about the threat who then sprung into action to beef up security at the stations and carried out various checks for hours. “While the agencies after a thorough check concluded that the calls were hoaxes. The local police started tracing the accused whose phone was powered off.

“Through his SIM card purchasing documents, we learnt that the man stayed in Om Sai Chawl. We searched the chawls and arrested the man from one of the rooms. Shukla is a labourer and his wife had left him a year ago. Since then, he had been trying to convince her to come back. He got drunk on Friday night and tried to speak with her again over the phone but things didn’t work out. In order to create trouble for people, he called up the police control rooms to trouble her,” said the police officer.

The police said after making bomb hoax calls, Shukla switched off his phone. “We have arrested him and booked him under sections 505 (whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumour or report), 505 (2) (statements conducing to public mischief) and 182 (false information) of the IPC,” said Vankoti.