Got hoax bomb threat linked to Mumbai hotel, caller asked for ₹5 cr, say cops

The bomb threat was received at a prominent hotel in Mumbai, the city police was quoted as saying in a statement.

A hoax bomb threat - linked to a prominent hotel - was received on Monday evening, the Mumbai Police have said. An unidentified man called up to say that bombs were kept at four places in the hotel, and he asked for ₹5 crore to diffuse them, the cops highlighted.

(File photo/ representational)  Police officers stop commuters at Girgaum Chowpatty during night curfew in Mumbai.  (PTI)

A case has been filed under sections 336 and 507 of the Indian Penal Code.

This comes just days after the city police had received a 26/11 like terrorist attack threat from a Pakistani number. Several WhatsApp messages were reported to be received by the cops on Friday night. Following this, a probe was launched and a barber from Virar was detained for questioning, HT had reported.

“We are not taking the threat lightly. Any call we receive, we treat it seriously. In the past several of them have turned out to be hoaxes,” Mumbai police commissioner Vivek Phansalkar had said.

The state was also on alert last week after a sailing vessel was found drifting in the Arabian Sea. The cargo in the vessel contained three assault rifles and several boxes of ammunition. “We found that the box contained three AK series assault rifles and ten boxes containing over 200 live rounds. A wireless alert was sent out across the Raigad district and nakabandis were urgently set up to try and intercept whoever might have escaped from the boat before it was spotted,” a senior officer with the police in the Raigad district - about 100 km from the state capital of Mumbai - said.