Mild panic prevailed at the Secunderabad Railway Station in Hyderabad on Sunday after a bomb threat call was made to security agencies, which later turned out to be a hoax.
The call, made by an unidentified person around 8 pm to the police control room, claimed that a bomb was planted at the railway station and could explode at any time.
Security personnel from the city police and the Government Railway Police were immediately alerted and a bomb disposal squad was deployed. After all 10 platforms were searched, and the authorities could not find any explosive substances, they realised that it was a hoax.
A case has been registered with the Gopalapuram police and efforts are underway to trace the caller.
Just last week, tension prevailed at the station after a similar call had claimed that there was a bomb planted on the Vijayawada-Secunderabad Intercity Express. A thorough check of the train was conducted before authorities declared that the call was a hoax.
In September last year, the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad was put on high alert after an email was sent to the customer care ID of the airport, which stated “I want to blast bomb in airport tomorrow.”
The Airport Operation Control Centre was informed and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Telangana police and other security forces began conducting search operations on the premises. However, it was later found to be a hoax.
In July, a similar incident had sent security officials at the airport on a wild goose chase after a call was received with a bomb threat on a day that Union Home Minister Amit Shah was arriving in Telangana.
The CISF later said that a drunk passenger who was travelling to Chennai had given false information about bombs on two flights, following which checks were conducted on board the aircraft. The passenger was later arrested by the Shamshabad police.