A 40-year-old man has been arrested by the city police for allegedly making a hoax call saying that some people were planning to carry out bomb blasts at two locations in Mumbai ahead of the Independence Day.
The accused was identified as Mahesh Labdhe, a fisherman, who resides in Kadhaipada, Bhayander (West) in Thane district.
According to Mumbai police's Crime Branch, Thane police control room had received a call from an unknown caller on Friday morning, informing them that four persons were going to carry out blasts at two locations in the city.
Police immediately launched an investigation to know the whereabouts of the caller.
"The location of the caller was traced to Kharegaon naka in Bhayander East in Thane district," said a press release by Mumbai police.
Following this input, the city police laid a trap and spotted Labdhe moving suspiciously at that spot. After detaining him, police checked his mobile phone and found that he had dialled the police control room a number of times.
During the interrogation, the accused revealed that some local boys regularly beat him and snatched away his money.
"Labdhe said that he made fake calls so that police would approach him and he would be able to tell them the names of those boys who trouble him and get them arrested," police said.
Labdhe was later arrested under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Information Technology Act.
The case has been transferred to Bandra police station for investigation.
