Drunk man makes bomb hoax call on Taj, held

Man arrested for making bomb threats to Taj Hotel in Mumbai. Accused claimed he was drunk and stressed about unpaid dues. Investigation ongoing.

Mumbai: A man was arrested on Saturday for allegedly calling the control room of Mumbai police and the Fire brigade, under the influence of alcohol, 28 times, saying he would drop a bomb at the Taj hotel in Colaba.

A view of the Taj Hotel (PTI file photo)

The accused was identified as Dharmpal Singh, 36, a labourer from New Delhi.

The incident occurred on Saturday around 8pm, the control room and the Fire brigade received a call saying he was going to drop a bomb at the Taj Hotel in Colaba, said police sources. “Although the caller was not making sense, but as per the Standard Operating Procedure, all the concerned authorities were informed by the control rooms, and security was increased. We then started tracing the caller,” said a police officer.

Singh was traced and picked up from the Kalachowkie area in Central Mumbai. “He told us he was drunk and was stressed as his former employee has not paid him dues. He decided to choose Taj as he had heard about it a lot,” said the police officer.

Sigh had come to Mumbai eight days ago in search of work. He has worked in Delhi and Chennai, and his original address is in Laxmi Nagar, New Delhi.

“We are still interrogating him to get more details,” said the police officer.

A case has been registered under section 506 (2) (criminal intimidation) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.