Man calls up NSG, warns of 'chemical attack' on PM; arrested

Mumbai: A 22-year-old man was arrested from Mumbai after he allegedly called up the National Security Guard (NSG) control room and warned of a “chemical attack” on the prime minister, the police said today.

Kashinath Mandal, who worked as a security guard, was arrested by the D B Marg Police in central Mumbai on July 27, an official said.

He obtained the contact number of the NSG control room in New Delhi and called up there on Friday, warning of a “chemical attack” on the prime minister, the official said.  The NSG tracked the number to Mumbai and informed the police here about the call.

The police then traced Mandal – a native of Jharkhand and staying at a hutment in Walkeshwar area here – and arrested him from the Mumbai Central Railway Station when he was about to board a Surat-bound train, he said.

The official said that during interrogation, Mandal told the police that his friend was recently killed in a Naxal attack in Jharkhand and in this context he wanted to meet the prime minister. Following the arrest, the accused was produced in a court which remanded him in police custody till today. He will be produced in the court again later in the day, the official said.

Mandal has been booked under IPC sections 505 (1) and (2) (making, publishing or circulating any statement, rumour or report creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) and 182 (false information with intent to cause public servant to use his lawful power to the injury of another person), he added.