Man held for hoax call about explosives landing at port for blasts

A man was arrested for allegedly making a hoax call to the police control room about 90 kilograms of "MD", apparently a reference to mephedrone drug, and explosives landing at a port to carry out blasts in JJ Hospital, Bhendi Bazar and Nal Bazar areas of south Mumbai, an official said on Saturday.

The call was received at the South Region police control room on Friday afternoon and the accused had said the contraband and explosives had reached the port here on Thursday, the official informed.

"Following the call, the port area, its landing points and sensitive locations in the vicinity were combed and search operations were held, but nothing suspicious was found. We tracked the call to a mobile phone number in Dahanu in neighbouring Palghar district," he said.

A team left for Palghar and nabbed the accused, who is a resident of Nagpur, within nine hours of the call being made, he added.

The man has confessed to the act and has been arrested under Indian Penal Code sections 506 (3), 505(1), 182, 179 for providing false information, criminal intimidation and other offences, the official said.