TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: His early morning phone call cautioning the Delhi police of a terror attack during US President Barack Obama’s visit to Delhi on Republic Day gave some anxious moments for the investigating agencies – right from the Delhi police to the Intelligence Bureau sleuths and the Goa police on Wednesday morning.
Several rounds of interrogation of a 19-year-old, a resident of Cuncolim, however, later brought a sigh of relief to the investigating agencies, with district police chief Shekhar Prabhudesai telling the media in the evening, that the teen played a prank since he could not participate in the Republic Day parade in the national capital. The teen now runs the risk of being booked under the relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act and sections of IPC for playing the prank.
The top brass of the Goa police descended at the Cuncolim police station as top police officers took turns to interrogate the 19-year-old higher secondary school student throughout Wednesday after his phone call was traced to Goa by the Delhi police. He was brought to the Margao district police headquarters around Noon by Cuncolim PI Ram Asare and his team before being taken back to Cuncolim and being subjected to rounds of questioning.
Briefing the media, SP Prabhudessai said that the teen made an electronic phone call from his mobile using the internet, to the Delhi Police Control Room, stating that he heard three persons plotting to carry out a terror attack at Delhi on Republic Day function. “Nesh had told the Delhi Police control that he had recorded a conversation amongst the trio on the NH-17, meters away from the petrol pump at Panzorcone-Cuncolim and saw the miscreants firing a bullet in the air. However, our investigation revealed that the teen had himself recorded the voice of the so called terror suspects,” he said.
Asked to shed light on the motive behind the prank, SP Prabhudesai said the youngster, who is a NSS volunteer, was allegedly dejected since he could not make it to the Republic Day parade.
Besides the DIG, SP Umesh Gaonkar and Additional Director, IB Nair interrogated Nesh at the Cuncolim police
station.
