Serial fake bomb planter, two aides nabbed

The Rewa police said three people had been arrested who were involved in causing panic by planting fake bombs. They were identified as Prakash Singh, Ramteerath and Divesh Dubey, all residents of Uttar Pradesh.

PRAYAGRAJ: The Rewa police in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday finally arrested the man who had been placing fake IEDs (Improvised Explosive Device) since 2016, mostly near railway over bridges and under pass in trans-Yamuna areas and even in city areas. Recently, the man planted fake bombs twice in Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh which borders Prayagraj.

Prayagraj police officials have also reached Rewa to question the culprits and learn about the motive behind planting the fake bombs. (Pic for representation)

Prayagraj police officials have also reached Rewa to question the man and learn about his motive behind planting the fake bombs.

The Rewa police said three people had been arrested who were involved in causing panic by planting fake devices. They were identified as Prakash Singh, Ramteerath and Divesh Dubey, all residents of Uttar Pradesh. The accused confessed to have committed similar incidents in UP. Electronic circuit, mother board, aluminium wires, electronic clock, plastic pipes etc have been recovered from them.

SSP Prayagraj Ajay Kumar said a team of Prayagraj police had been sent to Rewa to question the arrested accused. The arrested trio had confessed involvement in placing fake bombs attached with threat letters in different areas of Prayagraj and Rewa districts. They would be brought to Prayagraj on B warrant and questioned further. NSA will also be imposed on them.

SP trans-Yamuna Saurabh Dixit said Prakash Singh of Bhasandar village of Meja was the prime accused in the case. Prakash who had completed Bachelor of Engineering from a college in Bhopal was suffering from epilepsy and became mentally unstable after his mother’s death in 2016. He placed fake bombs at many places in trans-Yamuna area in 2016-17 and then went to Noida where he was working in a company. He had recently returned to his native village and started planting fake bombs again with the help of his college friend Divesh Dubey and a labourer Ramteerath of his village. The trio moved in Prakash’s car and planted fake bombs at different places. Prakash claimed that the wanted ransom from the government but it appeared that he was suffering from a mental disorder. He got married recently and his wife also informed about his bad temper and unusual behaviour at home, the SP added.

It is worth mentioning that since 2016, a person placed over a dozen fake bombs which he made using bottles, plastic box, wires, red tapes, clocks and used wooden sticks. The culprit attache the bottles or plastic box with wires and fastens them with red tape to make it appear like an IED. In some old incidents, he also attached a clock in the fake device.

After placing fake bombs for two years, the culprit suddenly stopped. However, after an interval of over two years, he became active again.

Each time the culprit place the fake bomb, he attached a letter written in poor English. In most of the letters, he issued threats to railway officials and demanded hefty amounts of cash from them. However, in two of the letters found earlier in Naini and Minto Park, he also issued threats to authorities of Alstom company in Naini area and demanded large amounts from them.

Recently, the culprit placed fake bombs in Naini, Meja and Mirzapur within a few days. On Republic Day, he caused panic in Rewa by placing fake bombs near an under bridge. A letter addressed to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath was also found with the bomb. However, the message in the letter written in poor English was not very clear.