Bomb threat at Mangaluru hospital, PG medical student held for making hoax call

Bomb threat at Mangaluru hospital, PG medical student held for making hoax call

A medical student was taken into custody on Saturday by the Ullal police on suspicion of making a hoax call, implying a bomb threat to her medical college and hospital on June 4, police said.

The arrested post graduate student allegedly placed the call to avoid attending a seminar.

According to the police, the bomb scare prompted a massive security deployment at a private hospital in Deralakatte earlier this week.

On 4 June, at around 8.45 am, the hospital received five bomb threat calls from an unidentified caller claiming that explosives had been planted on the premises. The calls triggered panic among doctors, hospital staff, and patients, prompting the authorities to initiate an extensive security sweep.

Nearly 30 personnel, including teams from the Bomb Disposal Squad and the Dog Squad, were deployed. A meticulous 10-hour search operation was conducted across the hospital campus, including the main building and parking areas. No explosives or suspicious objects were found.

Later, a complaint was lodged by the medical student. Based on her complaint, a case was initially registered under Sections 352(2) and 352(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 at the Ullal Police Station.

However, forensic and technical investigations revealed that the student herself had made the bomb threat calls. According to investigators, she allegedly placed the calls in an attempt to avoid presenting a paper at a scheduled seminar.

Police took her into custody and the mobile phone used to make the calls was seized as evidence. Ullal police are investigating further.