Police emergency helpline numbers are provided for the security and safety of the citizens. However, hoax calls not only congest the communication network and disrupt policing operations but also land the caller in serious trouble.
The district sessions court, Thane on Thursday slapped a fine of Rs. 1000 on a 30-year-old man for sending the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police on a wild goose chase by passing false information on a single emergency response number-Dial 112- an integrated service to a person in distress.
Failure in paying the fine will attract one month of imprisonment. According to the police, an anonymous person rang the helpline number (112) at around 10:25 am on Thursday and informed them about liquid explosive chemicals being ferried in a tanker from Sativali (Vasai) to Ghodbunder, which could cause a serious mishap.
Sensing the gravity of the situation, the control room relayed wireless messages to concerned police stations. Soon after the threat call came, the police personnel alerted all its patrolling units and intensified vigilance on the highway. However, the call turned out to be a hoax. The police then traced the number and found it to be of a person identified as-Jamshed Ahmed Choudhary (30) - a resident of Goregaon who works in a private company. Choudhary confessed to making the hoax call with the intention to harass the police.
He was booked under section 182 (false information, with intent to cause public servant to use his lawful power to the injury of another person) of the IPC and produced in court on Thursday evening. The MBVV police have warned strict action against hoax callers who can cause genuine cases to be missed/ delayed defeating the purpose of an emergency call.
