21-year-old radiology student held for sending hoax email to BEST

ATS arrests 21-year-old student for sending hoax bomb threat email to Wadala bus depot. Accused did it to attract attention due to bus not stopping at Vashi.

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Saturday arrested a 21-year-old BSc Radiology student for allegedly sending a hoax email to the Wadala bus depot claiming a bomb was placed in a route number 512 BEST bus. The email was received on Friday night, but nothing suspicious was found in subsequent inspection of several BEST buses plying on the route, said police.

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“The youth told us that he was tired of the bus not halting at Vashi despite his repeated complaints. He said decided to attract attention by sending the email,” said a police officer. The accused was identified as Harshil Panwala, 21, a resident of Nerul.

According to officials at the RAK Marg police station, where the first information report was registered, the Wadala bus depot main control received an email on Friday night. The email claimed a bomb was planted on a 512 route BEST bus, which plies between Nerul bus station and Mulund West via Turbhe, Vashi, and Airoli.

BEST intimated the police soon after receiving the email, following which a search operation was launched. “We stopped and searched several 512 number buses but found nothing suspicious. We then began trying to trace the sender of the email,” said the police officer.

On Saturday afternoon, the Maharashtra ATS arrested Panwala from his residence and handed him over to the RAK Marg police as the Wadala bus depot falls under its jurisdiction.

“When we questioned the accused to understand the motive behind sending the email, he said that he studies at a college in Nerul and works part-time with a doctor in Vashi. He said though he would wait for bus number 512 after work at Vashi, the bus never stopped due to over-crowding or some other reason. He complained about the matter to the BEST administration as well as on the ‘Chalo’ app, but it was not addressed,” said the police officer.

Panwala has been booked under sections 505 (statements conducing to public mischief), 505(2) (statements encouraging enmity, animosity, or ill-will between classes), and 507 (criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 66-D (cheating by personation by using computer resource) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.