Man held from Pune for hoax bomb call to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar police control room on March 31

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: City police arrested a 46-year-old man from Pune after he allegedly made a hoax call claiming that a bomb blast would occur at a mosque. Police struggled for over 30 hours to bring the accused out of his flat in Pune, and then arrest him on Friday. He was brought to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Saturday.On March 31, around 6.57pm, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar police control room's landline (0240-2240500) received a call from a man speaking in Hindi. The man said: "Vilas Doiphode bomb blast karnewala hai, masjid mein (Vilas Doiphode will carry out a bomb blast in a mosque)". When he was asked to provide his name and address, the caller disconnected the call. The on-duty police officer immediately escalated the matter to his seniors.On the instructions of police commissioner Pravin Pawar, the caller's mobile number was traced and an inquiry was launched. A simultaneous search was conducted at the residence of Vilas Ramrao Doiphode, a resident of Rajnagar, Mukundwadi, but no suspicious material or relevant information was found.The call was particularly alarming as it came a day after an actual bomb blast that occurred in a mosque in a village of the Beed district on March 30. Taking no chances, the city police, under orders from the commissioner, initiated thorough checks of all mosques across the city. Forces remained on high alert and maintained strict vigil to ensure communal harmony was not disturbed.A deeper technical analysis revealed the hoax call was made by Deepak Dhoke, a resident of TV Centre, near Datta Mandir in N-11 sector, of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. He has, however, been residing at Shubham Palace, Chaitanyanagar, Dhankawadi, Pune.Following the identification, an FIR was lodged, and a crime branch team was sent to Pune to apprehend Dhoke. Despite repeated calls to come out of his flat, the accused remained holed up for over 30 hours. With assistance from Sahakarnagar police, and after obtaining a search warrant from the court, police forced entry into the premises. Dhoke eventually opened the door and was taken into custody. A thorough search of his flat yielded no incriminating material.During interrogation, Dhoke admitted to making the call to cause trouble. Initial findings suggest he acted out of mischief, but police have sought his custody to further probe his motives.Police Commissioner said that in light of the Beed mosque blast, the administration took the hoax call extremely seriously. He warned that strict action would be taken against people making fake or prank calls in the future.The investigation is being led by senior inspector Mangesh Jagtap of Begumpura police station.