Mumbai: A travel agent was arrested for allegedly making a hoax call, claiming that a bomb was planted in an Uttar Pradesh-bound train at CST railway station, police said. According to city police crime branch, the accused Rameshchandra Chourasiya (39), who operates Chourasiya Tours and Travels, was nabbed for making the hoax call and handed over to the CST railway police where an FIR was registered against him.
On February 25, a phone call was received at 8 am by the police that a bomb was planted in the UP-bound Pushpak Express, which was scheduled to leave the CST railway station at 8.20 am, the police said. Panic gripped the passengers of the long-distance train and a thorough checking was conducted with dog squads, but no suspicious object or explosive material was discovered.
The train was delayed by three hours due to the hoax call, the police said, adding that the phone call had come from a mobile phone with a sim card registered in Uttar Pradesh. "We nabbed Chourasiya during the probe. He had stopped using this SIM card after the hoax call. The reason for the call was that he wanted the train to be delayed by at least three hours so that he could get a refund on two train tickets bought through Tatkal facility. He wanted to sell these two tickets, but could not, until the last moment," the crime branch official said.
Tatkal e-tickets can be booked for selected trains one day in advance. As per railway norms, a passenger can seek a refund on the Tatkal ticket if the train departs three hours late. "Chourasiya had some tickets bought through the Tatkal facility. Two tickets remained with him, while he sold the rest for a profit. He did not want to suffer loses and so he made a hoax all, causing three hours' delay to the train so that he could avail refund facility," the officer said.
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