BENGALURU: A staffer of an MNC in Ecospace, Bellandur, was detained on Tuesday on charges of making a hoax bomb call to his employer.
Prasad Navneenth, 25, is a resident of Byappanahalli and from Kerala. Navneeth was working as a senior associate with BDO-Rise, which provides client services across sectors, until he was disallowed from entering the office over performance issues, police said, adding that the company was contemplating sacking him. Earlier in the day, Navneeth had called the firm, from his mobile phone, seeking to speak to some of his seniors and team members. However, his request was denied. After making a few more futile calls, Navneeth is said to have told the firm that he had placed a bomb there and it would go off within 30 minutes.
A little later, Navneeth called again from his mobile and said he had made a false claim. However, by then, the firm had contacted police. “An anti-sabotage team, bomb disposal squad, local police and sleuths from the city intelligence and Internal Security Division, about 60 personnel in all, scoured the premises and declared it a hoax call by 3pm. By then, another police team had traced the suspect and detained him,” a cop said.
Police said they have registered a non-cognizable report and will convert into an FIR after court permission.