Delhi man detained after night-long search over PM Modi threat call

Several teams were formed to locate the caller, identified as Salman alias Arman, before he was traced to northeast Delhi’s Khajoori Khas

A man suspected to be a drug addict called the police control room around midnight and allegedly threatened to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi, prompting a night-long search that ended with the caller’s detention in the early hours of Friday, officers aware of the matter said. The call sent the Delhi Police and the central agencies into a tizzy. Several teams were formed to locate the caller, identified as Salman alias Arman, before he was traced to northeast Delhi’s Khajoori Khas.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (File photo)

An Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Delhi Police’s Special Cell team was questioning the caller, who has not been arrested yet. A police officer, who did not want to be named, said a team engaged the caller in a conversation while the other traced his location to Khajoori Khas through technical surveillance. The central agencies were also alerted about the call, the officer said.

“The teams spotted him [the caller] near Khajoori Khas Chowk and overpowered him. He was brought to the Khajoori Khas police station where the IB and special cell officers also arrived and are questioning him. His identity has been established as Salman alias Arman, a resident of Loni in Ghaziabad. He appears to be a drug addict,” the officer added.

The officers said the interrogation team is trying to ascertain why Salman made the threat and whether someone had influenced him. Further legal action was likely to be taken on the basis of his questioning, they added.