Karnataka: 'Curiosity' costs man dear, lands in police net after making hoax bomb call to Raj Bhavan

Bengaluru, Dec 13 (PTI) A 34 year-old man who allegedly made a hoax bomb call to the Raj Bhavan here and arrested from Andhra Pradesh, did so out of 'curiosity' and has no criminal record, a senior police official said on Wednesday.

Bhasker was arrested from Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh, police said. A B.Com graduate, he is into agriculture and hails from Vadahalli village in Mulbagal taluk of Kolar district, they said.

A phone call claiming that a bomb was planted inside the Raj Bhavan premises here and could go off anytime threw the city police into a tizzy on night of December 11.

The police scrambled all over the Governor's official residence and finally concluded that it was a hoax call.

The investigation revealed that the accused had come to Bengaluru on Monday night and while passing by Raj Bhavan, searched for the contact number of NIA's (National Investigation Agency) control room online. He made a call claiming about the presence of a bomb inside the premises of Raj Bhavan.

The city police were immediately alerted about the matter and necessary action was taken. Later, an investigation revealed that the bomb threat was a hoax call, a senior police officer said.

Initially, it was suspected by the police that the call was made from Bidar, about 600 km from the state capital. After the alleged call, the mobile phone was found to be switched off. However, using technical surveillance, the police later traced the caller to Chittoor in AP from where the accused was arrested on Tuesday night, he said.

"The accused made the call out of curiosity...just like that, without knowing the consequences of his action. We have checked his background and he does not have any previous criminal record. We registered a case against him and made the arrest on Tuesday evening," he added. PTI