VIJAYAWADA/VISAKHAPATNAM: A series of bomb threats in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam on Saturday triggered widespread panic, prompting immediate response from local authorities.
The threats, which later turned out to be hoaxes, put both cities on high alert, with bomb disposal teams and sniffer dog squads conducting extensive search operations at public places, including shopping malls, railway stations, and bus stands.
According to the police, the Vijayawada city control room received a phone call from an unknown person around 6 am, claiming that a bomb had been planted on the premises of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) office located at Besant Road.
Upon receiving the phone call, the police immediately informed the bomb disposal team and sniffer dog squad, which rushed to the spot, and launched an extensive search operation at the LIC building and the nearby premises.
The police made the shops on Besant Road shut to avoid any untoward incident. Suspecting that explosives might be planted in thickly populated areas, the police deployed additional force for a thorough search of the surrounding areas.
The search operation lasted over five hours with bomb detection squads and sniffer dogs scouring the entire area. After the extensive search, no explosives were found, confirming that the threat was a hoax.
Spl teams set up to trace callers, security beefed up
During the searches, some trains were briefly halted, and passengers were subjected to detailed screening as part of precautionary measures.
The police said, “All 10 platforms were inspected thoroughly by bomb disposal teams while the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) were involved in checking the passengers.” According to sources, the Vijayawada city police were able to trace the location of the caller to Maharashtra, although the identity of the caller has not been obtained yet.
The police confirmed that special teams were formed to locate the accused caller who made the hoax bomb threat, and an investigation is underway to determine the motive behind the threatening call. In response to the incident, the Vijayawada city police tightened security at the railway station and other public places, increasing police presence and intensifying surveillance.
Panic gripped after an unknown caller claimed that a bomb had been planted in the Mumbai-Visakhapatnam Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express (LTT), which had arrived at Visakhapatnam railway station on Saturday. This incident occurred a few hours after the hoax bomb threat had earlier targeted Besant Road in Vijayawada.
Speaking to TNIE, Visakhapatnam East ACP Laxmana Murthy said around 6.40 am, a call was received at the 112 Police Control Room from an unknown person, claiming that a bomb had been placed in the LTT Express. Responding to the phone call, teams from Visakhapatnam city police, GRP, RPF, Task Force, and law and order police, along with a bomb squad, conducted a comprehensive check at Visakhapatnam railway station and all compartments of the express train.
ACP Laxman Murthy said during the inspection of the entire train, a suspicious bag was found in a sleeper coach. The police teams identified the bag, which was left in the S2 compartment, and conducted a check.
They found that it belonged to Shriram Tiwari from UP, containing clothes, soap, an Aadhaar card, and an identity card. Fortunately, no explosives were found in the train, and the passengers and police officials breathed a sigh of relief. Investigation is going on to trace the unknown phone call, the Visakhapatnam East ACP said.