Phone mechanic held for hoax PCR van robbery call in east Delhi

On Monday around 10.45pm, Jain called the police control room and claimed that four men on two motorcycles snatched a mobile phone and a patrolling van from one sub-inspector Bane Singh outside the Vivek Vihar police station

A 51-year-old TV and mobile phone mechanic was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly making a hoax call about a police patrolling (PCR) van being robbed by four motorcycle-borne men outside Vivek Vihar police station on Monday night, police said, adding that no such carjacking had taken place anywhere in the city.

Police said the suspect was arrested from his home after a technical investigation.

Police said the suspect was arrested from his home after a technical investigation.

Police identified the arrested man as Anil Jain, a resident of Gandhi Nagar in east Delhi. He has been booked for giving false information under Indian Penal Code’s Section 182, said deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) R Sathiyasundaram.

On Monday around 10.45pm, Jain called the police control room and claimed that four men on two motorcycles snatched a mobile phone and a patrolling van from one sub-inspector Bane Singh outside the Vivek Vihar police station. Jain also claimed that the registration number plates of the two motocycles of the robbers were covered with mud.

Two recordings of the calls began circulating on social media from Tuesday morning. When senior police officers, including the DCP, were contacted, they clarified that no such incident had taken place and they were not aware of any such call either. However, on Wednesday, the city police confirmed receiving a hoax call at the police control room and registering a case.

Although Jain switched off his mobile number, the investigating team collected its call records from the concerned service provider and analysed it and traced Jain.

“We interrogated Jain and arrested him after confirming that he made the hoax call. His voice was identical to that of the person who made that fake call,” said DCP Sathiyasundaram.

“Jain claimed that he made the hoax call in an inebriated condition. He used the name of his brother-in-law, Vimal Jain, while making that call. When our police personnel called him back on the mobile number and began enquiring about the incident, Jain switched off his cellphone,” said DCP Sathiyasundaram.