Mumbai Police, on Friday noon received a call claiming the arrival of three 'terrorists' with Pakistan links in the metropolis, which turned out to be a hoax call, officials said on Saturday.
While the caller is yet to be traced, the police stepped up vigil and questioned a man from Beed district. The call was received by the police's main control room at 12.05 pm on April 7. The caller identified himself as Raja Thonge and said he was speaking from Pune, an official said.
The caller told police that three terrorists from Dubai with a Pakistan connection sneaked into Mumbai in the wee hours (on Friday), the official said. He also informed the police that the "terrorist" trio was involved in illegal activities and also provided the registration number of the vehicle they are purportedly using.
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"Police increased vigil after receiving the call. Apart from teams of local police, the crime branch was also roped in for investigation," the official said.
However, as police attempted to track down the caller, he had switched off his mobile phone some time after. The number was found to be registered in the name of a man from Ashti in Beed district, the official said.
A police team went to Ashti and questioned the man who claimed the phone number from which the call was made, he responded saying that it didn't belong to him and that he didn't know about any terrorists.
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"Nothing suspicious was found after verification and the call was declared a hoax," the official added.
The Azad Maidan police station in South Mumbai registered a case against unidentified persons for providing false information under sections 505 (1), 505 (2), and 182 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). A search is on for the caller, the official said.
Mumbai has witnessed a series of deadly terror attacks in the past decades. On November 26, 2008, when ten Pakistani terrorists struck the city killing 166 people and injuring more than 300 in four days, before nine of them were shot dead.
(With PTI inputs)
