Bomb scare at 3 Mumbai railway stations, Amitabh Bachchan's bungalow turns out to be hoax; 2 detained

Security agencies got into a tizzy after an anonymous caller informed the police that bombs have been placed at three railway stations in Mumbai and actor Amitabh Bachchan's bungalow, although the call later turned out to be a hoax and two persons were detained from neighbouring Thane in this connection, an official said on Saturday.

The caller, who is one of the detainees, is a truck driver, he said.

Police said they had received the call on Friday night, following which searches were carried out at these four locations, but nothing suspicious was found during the operation.

Mumbai police's main control room had received the call around 9.45 pm on Friday, in which the caller said that bombs have been placed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Byculla, Dadar railway stations and at megastar Amitabh Bachchan's bungalow in Juhu, the police official said.

"After getting the call, the Government Railway Police (GRP), Railway Protection Force (RPF) along with the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS), dog squads and local police personnel rushed to these locations and carried out searches," he said.

At the CSMT station, all the platforms, the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) office, parking lots and other nearby areas were searched with the help of the BDDS and dog squads. A team of Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS), Quick Response Teams (QRT), teams of a few local police stations, including Marine Drive and Azad Maidan, were also involved in the operation, he added.

But despite several hours of search, nothing suspicious was spotted at the CSMT and other three locations, the official said.

The police tracked the mobile number of the caller and traced him at Shil Phata area near Mumbra in Thane district, he said.

The caller is a truck driver from Marathwada region of Maharashtra. We have learnt that he has a habit of drinking. He has been detained along with one more person and the process to register an offence is currently on, the police official said.