Kerala: 15-year-old boy held for bomb hoax

Kochi: A 15-year-old boy, inspired by a TV comedy show, made hoax calls to the Ernakulam city police control room stating that he had planted a bomb at the Aluva station which sent the cops into a tizzy.

“The control room received the call at 11.45 on Monday night. Immediately,  a special police team along with the bomb squad reached the Aluva railway station. A thorough search was conducted all over the place  and on the trains passing through it at that time. Nothing could be found  despite a three-hour search and finally the call was declared a hoax,” said Mr P.A. Faizal, SI, Aluva.

The  activities caused a lot of hardships to the passengers and the trains got delayed.   A probe was ordered  to trace the mobile number of the caller.  The mobile was registered in the name of a woman.

The police then closed in on the location of the nearest mobile tower of the user and  they finally found out the offender--a class 10 student from East Kadungalloor. He was arrested and later released on bail.

“When questioned, the boy said he indulged in the prank after trying to imitate a TV comedy show. A case was registered under section 507 IPC (criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication) and section 118 of the Kerala Police Act.