It's a hoax, conclude Bengaluru cops after receiving alert about terror attack on trains

TNIE  gained access to a copy of the letter sent by Neelamani to the police chiefs of the other southern states.
The letter sent by Karnataka DG&IGP to police chiefs of other states
The letter sent by Karnataka DG&IGP to police chiefs of other states

BENGALURU: Top police officials called it a “hoax”, but there are reasons to follow the trail of a call received by the city police control room at 5.35 pm on Friday. The call was meant to “alert” the police about “possible terror attacks” targeting trains in South India, Maharashtra and Goa. The caller also claimed that a group of 19 terrorists were holed up in Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu.

Although a “hoax”, it was enough to send Karnataka’s top police officials into a tizzy. It prompted DG&IGP of Karnataka Neelamani N Raju to send an alert to her counterparts in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Goa at around 7 p.m. on Friday.

TNIE  gained access to a copy of the letter sent by Neelamani to the police chiefs of the other southern states. The letter mentions the call made by a truck driver who spoke in broken Hindi and Tamil, and said that he was calling while heading towards Hosur. The caller who identified himself as “Swamy Sundar Moorthy”, apparently claimed he was alerting them about possible terror attacks targeting trains in these states.  The letter also says the caller spoke of 19 terrorists holed up at Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu.

When asked about it, Neelamani Raju did not outright deny issuing the letter. Instead, she asked the reporter how the letter was obtained and repeatedly insisted that the news should not be published in the paper. She made no further comment.

Later, a top cop called TNIE and said it was a “hoax call” and there was no need to report about the security alert issued to all the mentioned states. The senior police officer also insisted that TNIE need not even mention the official saying it was a hoax call.

Bengaluru City police commissioner T Suneel Kumar too said, “There has been no such development.” 

The hoax caller was later found out to be a 65-year-old retired army man from Avalahalli who has been working as a truck driver for the past five years.

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