Pathankot man held for hoax bomb call

PK Jaiswar

Amritsar, July 21

Frustrated after a vehicle was abandoned outside his shop for months, a Pathankot resident orchestrated a hoax bomb and terror attack threat, leading to panic in the district. With the arrest of the shopkeeper, the Pathankot police today cracked the case. The suspect has been identified as Nitin Mahajan, who is incidentally also the complainant in the case. He planned the entire episode only to get an abandoned vehicle moved from outside his shop.

Giving details, Pathankot SSP Suhail Qasim Mir said an abandoned Innova with a Himachal Pradesh registration plate was found vandalised at Daki Road in Balaji Nagar in Pathankot. Some notes were found scattered near the vehicle, saying that blasts would take place in Pathankot within five days.

“The leaflets claimed the blasts would be carried out by 100 people, out of which 30 were already in the city. The messages concluded with Pakistan Zindabad,” he said. The incident led to widespread panic among residents and therefore Pathankot police immediately swung into action.

Mahajan, told the police he heard suspicious noises outside his residence at around 4.30 am. Upon investigating from his balcony, he said he saw a few people fleeing while chanting ‘Khalistan Zindabad’. In his statement Mahajan said the people were not wearing turbans and appeared unarmed.

Investigations revealed that the abandoned vehicle, belonged to Suresh Kumar of the area. “The police probe traced the origin of the notes from Mahajan’s shop. Following interrogation, Mahajan admitted to planning the entire incident,” the SSP said.

He was frustrated by the abandoned vehicle in front of his shop for the past two months, he initially broke the car’s glass panes. To sensationalise the matter and expedite the removal of the vehicle, he scattered the threatening leaflets, anticipating police intervention. The SSP said a case had been registered against Mahajan and he was arrested by the police.