One arrested for bomb hoax at Maharashtra secretariat

"Around 12.40 pm, the Disaster Management Control, Mantralaya, received a call from an unidentified caller claiming that a bomb was planted on the Mantralaya," Mumbai Police said in a statement.

Mumbai Police personnel on Sunday conducted a search operation at the Maharashtra government secretariat here after a caller, later identified as a farmer from Nagpur district, claimed that a bomb was planted on the building, which turned out to be a hoax call, officials said.

Police personnel along with Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) teams reached Mantralaya after a call was received regarding bomb placed, in Mumbai on Sunday. (ANI Photo)

"Around 12.40 pm, the Disaster Management Control, Mantralaya, received a call from an unidentified caller claiming that a bomb was planted on the Mantralaya," Mumbai Police said in a statement.

The caller was traced to Nagpur in east Maharashtra who turned out to be a farmer who allegedly made the call to draw the attention of the administration to his repeated pleas demanding compensation for his acquired land, a Nagpur rural police official said.