History-sheeter makes RDX-laden tanker hoax call after tiff with driver

The accused, identified as Nilesh Pandey, provided the registration number of the tanker to the police. According to the police, during the interrogation, Pandey confessed that there was a heated argument with the tanker driver on Friday night as the vehicle dashed into his bike on Ghodbunder Road

Mumbai: A 42-year-old history sheeter was arrested on Sunday for allegedly making a hoax call in an inebriated condition to the Mumbai police control room, informing that two Pakistani nationals were carrying RDX in a tanker and were moving towards Goa from Mumbai.

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The accused, identified as Nilesh Pandey, provided the registration number of the tanker to the police. According to the police, during the interrogation, Pandey confessed that there was a heated argument with the tanker driver on Friday night as the vehicle dashed into his bike on Ghodbunder Road.

“Pandey clicked the tanker’s picture and followed it for a few kilometres, but the driver did not stop the vehicle,” a police officer from the crime branch said. “In a fit of rage, Pandey called the Mumbai police control room around 1:10am on Sunday when he was drunk, informing that two Pakistanis were carrying RDX in a white tanker (registration number KA-19-AD-8571).”

After receiving the call, Mumbai police immediately alerted their Goan counterpart.

“The police stations across the state were alerted, and a manhunt was launched for the caller,” the officer said.

“Since we had the information that the tanker was heading towards Goa, we increased the nakabandi on Goa highway as well as on the interior roads in the Ratnagiri district,” superintendent of police Dhananjay Kulkarni, Ratnagiri, said.

“Around 1:15pm on Sunday, the concerned tanker was intercepted in Sanghmeshwar Taluka. While verifying, the police found that a chemical named Plasticizer was being carried in a tanker from Gujarat to Goa. The driver of the truck was questioned, and nothing suspicious was found,” added Kulkarni.

Pandey was traced in Kanjurmarg based on his mobile number and was arrested.

“During further investigation, police found four cases – kidnapping, assault and housebreaking – registered against Pandey in Kanjurmarg police station. He is notorious and was externed from the city earlier,” the police officer said.