Mumbai Police are on high alert after someone sent a bomb threat to the city’s traffic police’s official WhatsApp number. But now, officials believe the warning is a fake.
The message, which came the night before the Anant Chaturdashi festival, warned that 34 automobiles full of “human bombs” had been parked all across Mumbai. The person who sent the message said they were part of a group named “Lashkar-e-Jihadi.” They indicated that 14 Pakistani terrorists had come to the city and planned to use 400 kg of RDX to kill “up to one crore people.”
People think the threat is a joke, but the police are treating it seriously because it’s a sensitive time of year and there have been a number of similar threats lately. Security has been increased in busier parts of the city, like religious processions and other key venues. The cyber and anti-terror departments are working hard to figure out where the message came from.
This event comes amid a spate of bogus bomb threats and scares that have recently plagued the city. Last week, a guy was arrested for making a bogus threat at a rail station in Thane. Earlier this year, someone was also captured making a phony bomb threat at the Mumbai airport.
People have been told by high-ranking police officers to keep calm and attentive and to report any suspicious conduct right away.