MUMBAI: The Mumbai police have arrested a 50-year-old man from Andheri for making a hoax call alert about a “major incident” at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Shivaji Park on Friday, the police said.
However, when the police traced the caller it turned out to be a fake call. Senior inspector Nitin Tadakhe from Azad Maidan police station confirmed on Saturday that the accused caller was arrested on Friday and further investigation is underway.
The police have identified the accused as Kanappa Reddy, a resident of Amboli.
On Friday evening the Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra held a massive rally at Shivaji Park, where PM Modi was also present and delivered a 39-minute speech.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar and MNS chief Raj Thackeray were among the VVIPs present in the event.
According to the police, around 3 pm, a few hours before PM Modi’s event, the Mumbai police control room received an anonymous call saying that there would be a “big incident” at the Shivaji Park rally and asked the headquarters to increase the security at the venue.
Since it was the Prime Minister’s rally, the police took it very seriously and also informed the officers in the PM’s security wing. All senior police officials were alerted and security arrangements at the rally site were strengthened.
Police teams from Azad Maidan station that registered a case and the Crime Branch launched a manhunt for the caller based on the complaint of the woman police constable who received the threat call at the control room.
It was difficult to trace the caller as he had switched off the phone, but the police found the call to be made from Andheri.
Accordingly, the police team combed the area and managed to locate the suspect based on technical investigation, said an officer.
