Hoax bomb calls create panic in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam

The Hindu

24-05-2025

Anonymous phone calls claiming that bombs were planted in the railway stations in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam, on Lokmanya Tilak Terminal Express and on the busy Besant Road in Vijayawada kept the security personnel on their toes on Saturday (May 24, 2025). However, all the calls turned out to be a hoax. much to the relief of the authorities and the citizens as well.
After the Police Control Room (PCR) in Vijayawada received a call at around 6.50 a.m., claiming that bombs were planted at public places, the police sounded an alert and conducted checks in Vijayawada railway station.
Bomb Squads, along with sniffer dogs, rushed to the spot and scanned the entire Besant Road. As a precautionary measure, shop owners downed their shutters.
Government Railway Police (GRP) Inspector J.V. Ramana said that Bomb Detection and Disposal Squads (BDDS) scanned the railway station thoroughly.
'Three sniffer dogs, BDDS and City Security Wing (CSW) officials checked the luggage, restaurants, parcels, waiting halls and other places on all platforms and confirmed that the call was a hoax,' Mr. Ramana said.
'We are checking shops, push carts and canals. Bomb detection teams were scanning the area thoroughly,' a BDDS officer said.
During the investigation, the police identified that the miscreant made the phone call from Maharashtra. They also made similar calls in Maharashtra on May 23.
'The anonymous call was made from a stolen mobile phone. The owner of the phone had complained to the police. As per the police who received the call in the PCR, the caller spoke in Hindi,' said South Zone ACP D. Paavan Kumar.
'After receiving the call, we alerted the police in Mumbai, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada, Railway Protection Force (RPF), BDDS and the Government Railway Police (GRP),' the ACP said.
The police are doing a thorough investigation, RPF Assistant Security Commissioner Kota Joji said.
Hours after a hoax bomb threat targeted Besant Road in Vijayawada, an anonymous call claiming that a bomb was planted on the Mumbai Lokmanya Tilak Terminal–Visakhapatnam Express, which just arrived at Visakhapatnam Railway Station, created panic in the city.
Teams from the city police, GRP, RPF, Bomb Squad, and Dog Squad did a thorough check of all compartments. The train arrived at the station around 1.45 p.m.
Police sources said that a suspicious bag was found in one of the coaches during the inspection. The personnel found clothes, soap, a mobile phone, and other items in the bag. Later, it was reportedly found that a passenger had inadvertently left it behind.
The authorities and passengers had a sigh of relief as no explosives were found.
More details are awaited.