24 bomb hoaxes in Goa in Sept

24 bomb hoaxes in Goa in Sept
Preetu Nair | TNN

Panaji: As the nation struggled to cope with terror strikes, pranksters in Goa made 24 hoax calls to the police control room in September.
In the past two days alone, about six calls were made informing the police about bombs having been planted at various locations. Of these, four were prank calls and two informed the police about unknown objects in the vicinity of the bus stand at Margao and Junta house, Panaji.
“Any call to the police about suspicious objects cannot be ignored and we rush our personnel to the spot. But more than 70% phone calls are prank calls,” said SP (PCR) Atmaram Deshpande.
Every time there is a bomb scare, the bomb disposal squad and sniffer dogs are rushed to the spot, the area cordoned off and an extensive and hectic search carried out. At the end of the operation, if no explosives are detected, the calls are declared hoaxes.

‘Prank calls amount to mischief mongering’
Panaji: Twenty four hoax calls were made in September to the police control room.
The police reveal that the highest number of bomb hoax calls — five — were made within eight hours on September 25, 2008, sending the sleuths rushing in search of non-existent bombs. In August, about 10 hoax calls were made to the PCR. However, not a single person has been arrested for making such a call.
“People should behave responsibly and think twice before making a call. A mischievous or prank call diverts police resources, which can cause irreparable damage in case the police is unable to attend to a real threat due to a hoax call. A prank call amounts to mischief mongering,” said SP (PCR) Atmaram Deshpande.

1 October, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition