Palakkad: A Rajasthan native was arrested at Shoranur in the Palakkad district for issuing a hoax bomb threat on the Rajdhani Express after he missed the train.
The incident occurred past midnight Thursday when the railway control room at Thrissur received an anonymous call about a bomb planted on the Delhi-bound express.
The train was halted at the next station, Shoranur by 12.50 am. The bomb and K9 squads were rushed from Palakkad for a thorough inspection.
Meanwhile, to the suspicion of the Railway Protection Force, a youngster, who had arrived by auto at the railway station, was seen boarding the train. His ticket was reserved from Ernakulam.
On questioning, the suspect, Jaisingh, tried to mislead the authorities by saying a relative of his had made the fake bomb threat. Later, the mobile phone he used to make the call was found in his bag and he confessed.
Jaisingh told the RPF that after he failed to board at Ernakulam, he made the hoax bomb threat assuming the train would be halted at Thrissur. He then left on a bus, but on arrival at Thrissur, he realised he had missed the train again. He then hired an auto for Shoranur, where he managed to catch the train, but also got caught in the process.
Jaisingh's confession was reassuring for the authorities who had combed the train for almost three hours and found no explosives. The train left Shoranur by 3 am.
On Friday, Jaisingh, who is merchant, was taken into custody and remanded.
