MP: Temple priest arrested for making bomb threat call

Gwalior, Jun 29: A 39-year-old temple priest was arrested for allegedly making a bomb threat call, which prompted the police to conduct an extensive search at Gwalior railway station in Madhya Pradesh, an official said on Wednesday.

The accused, Laxman Das, has the habit of sharing fake information with the police and was involved in similar acts with the Uttar Pradesh police, said Shubha Shrivastava, deputy superintendent of police (DSP), General Railway Police (GRP).

A phone call was made to the emergency service number 100 around 10.30 am on Monday, which claimed that a bomb had been planted at the railway station, she said. The police traced the phone number to Das, a native of Khairgarh in Agra district of Uttar Pradesh, who is a priest at a temple in Bhind district, the official said.

The accused switched off his phone after making the hoax call and was arrested on Tuesday when the device was turned on, she said. The bomb disposal squad and sniffer dogs had conducted an extensive search of Gwalior railway station following the call, which turned out to be hoax.

PTI