Man sentenced to 26 years in jail in Multan for hoax bomb threats
He was also fined Rs0.1 million. Another man arrested along with him was released owing to unsatisfactory evidence
MULTAN:
An anti-terror court in Multan on Monday sentenced a man to 26 years of imprisonment and fined him Rs0.1 million for two hoax bomb threats.
Rana Yousuf, 30, had called the police helpline on the first day of Eid and falsely told them that two bombs had been planted in the city. One was planted at the heavily frequented Hussain Agaahi Square in the old city area, and the other at the Shams public park.
Both locations at the time were witnessing a high influx of people due to the Eid holidays. At the time of the call, there were over 2,000 people in Shams park.
Taking no chances, police officials had rushed to both spots and frantically searched for the alleged bombs. After searching for almost five hours, they discovered that the call and the warnings were fake.
The criminal investigation unit of Multan police started a covert operation against those behind the incident.
Police said Yousuf had used the SIM card of one of his friends, whom he wanted to entrap because of a business rivalry.
Police in August traced the SIM card and arrested both Yousuf and Noman Ali.
They were booked under sections of the anti-terror act.
In subsequent investigations, Yousuf’s voice was matched to the recording of the call made to 15. Meanwhile, Ali was held for association in the crime.
On Saturday, Yousuf was convicted and sentenced to 26 years in prison while the court released Ali owing to unsatisfactory evidence.
Meanwhile, district emergency rescue service spokesperson Abdul Jabbar told The Express Tribune that officials of rescue 1122 are planning to set up a complaint cell for wrong calls in a judicial and official manner since they receive the largest chunk of hoax calls.
An anti-terror court in Multan on Monday sentenced a man to 26 years of imprisonment and fined him Rs0.1 million for two hoax bomb threats.
Rana Yousuf, 30, had called the police helpline on the first day of Eid and falsely told them that two bombs had been planted in the city. One was planted at the heavily frequented Hussain Agaahi Square in the old city area, and the other at the Shams public park.
Both locations at the time were witnessing a high influx of people due to the Eid holidays. At the time of the call, there were over 2,000 people in Shams park.
Taking no chances, police officials had rushed to both spots and frantically searched for the alleged bombs. After searching for almost five hours, they discovered that the call and the warnings were fake.
The criminal investigation unit of Multan police started a covert operation against those behind the incident.
Police said Yousuf had used the SIM card of one of his friends, whom he wanted to entrap because of a business rivalry.
Police in August traced the SIM card and arrested both Yousuf and Noman Ali.
They were booked under sections of the anti-terror act.
In subsequent investigations, Yousuf’s voice was matched to the recording of the call made to 15. Meanwhile, Ali was held for association in the crime.
On Saturday, Yousuf was convicted and sentenced to 26 years in prison while the court released Ali owing to unsatisfactory evidence.
Meanwhile, district emergency rescue service spokesperson Abdul Jabbar told The Express Tribune that officials of rescue 1122 are planning to set up a complaint cell for wrong calls in a judicial and official manner since they receive the largest chunk of hoax calls.