Mumbai:Chaos prevailed at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai's Colaba area after the hotel authority received a hoax bomb threat on Saturday. Police and the bomb squad swung into action after receiving the information from the hotel authorities. The bomb squad failed to find any suspicious item from the the premises of the hotel property.
Close to 13 years ago on November 26, 2008, the Taj Hotel in Colaba witnessed one of the biggest hostage situations and bloodshed in human history, after a team of 10 terrorists who sailed in from Pakistan laid siege to the property.
According to the Mumbai Police, the call to Taj's management was made by a young boy. When the police started investigating the number from which the call was made, it was revealed that it was a 14-year-old from Karad in Satara behind the hoax. The boy and his parents were taken into custody.
The boy, a ninth standard student, obtained the Hotel's telephone number from Google. He called Taj Hotel from his mobile and told the security should be beefed up at the back gate of the Taj Hotel, as two men wearing masks and carrying guns will be entering the Taj.
The police quoted the boy saying that he called the hotel after watching a series and a movie on television. His family had no information about the boy's actions. The boy and his parents statements recorded, said senior police inspector B.S. R. Patil.
Earlier on June 21, a man was arrested in Pune for sending threats via email to bomb Mumbai Mantralaya. According to the Police, Mumbai's Marine Drive police station received threats via email about a bomb placed in Mumbai Mantralaya. The security was beefed up at the place upon receiving the threats.
However, the investigation revealed that the threats were fake and the accused, who was detained in Pune's Ghorpandi area, has been identified as Santosh Shinde. As per sources, he allegedly sent this mail out of frustration as his son was not getting admission to the school. An official of Mumbai's Marine Drive police station said that the accused has been handed over to them by the Pune police and a case under Cyber Act was registered against Shinde.