Bomb hoax: Caller challenges police to arrest him

‘The SIM used for the call is registered in Sindh’.

LAHORE:

The caller who ‘tipped off’ the police about a bomb at Governor’s House, which turned out to be a hoax, has been calling the police, challenging them to arrest him.

The man, who had identified himself as Hassan, called Rescue 15 – from mobile number 0341-2257216 – on October 31 at around 1:30 pm. He said that there was a bomb in the Governor’s House. Bomb Disposal Squad, sniffer dogs and a large contingent of police was sent to the Governor’s House but no explosives were found. Hassan called again at around 5:30pm and made the same claim again.

An officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Express Tribune that the police had called Hassan on the mobile number and asked him where he had gotten the information from. He said that Hassan refused to reveal his source. The official said that when asked where Hassan was, he said that he was standing near Fawara Chowk on Main Boulevard. The police asked Hassan to tell them where he was exactly so that they could meet face-to-face but he declined that request.

Police registered an FIR against the caller under Section 25D of The Telegraph Act.

The section deals with causing annoyance or intimidating over the phone. The offence is punishable with imprisonment up to three years, fine or both.

The police official said that according to a tip the SIM that Hassan used to make the call was registered in Karachi and was currently being used in Ghotki, Sindh. The information has yet to be confirmed by relevant authorities.

The official also said that Hassan had stopped using the SIM on Friday.

Sub-inspector Muhammad Nadeem Babar said that the phone number had been sent to Criminal Records Branch for verification.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2011.