Mumbai Railway Police Threat Alert Activated Over Call From Pakistan Number

Mumbai’s railway stations and hotels are on high alert after a WhatsApp threat from a Pakistan-based caller demanding a ransom to prevent coordinated attacks.

In a significant development, a threat call was received by the Mumbai Railway Police control room in the early hours of Tuesday, May 28, triggering the Mumbai railway police threat response mechanism to be activated immediately, involving all key railway stations in the city being placed under high alert. According to information received from the Railway Police, its control room’s WhatsApp number was called at around 3AM. Identifying himself as Irfan, the caller threatened to initiate attacks on railway stations, army office establishments, and prominent hotels while demanding ₹ 5 crore to prevent harm to civilians.

Furthermore, the Railway Police traced the caller to a location in Pakistan, with further investigation underway in the case. This latest development comes in the wake of a series of hoax threat calls and emails directed to law enforcement agencies, such as Maharashtra’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Navi Mumbai unit receiving a bomb threat email a few days ago. Triggering a security alert, the mail prompted law enforcement agencies to take immediate action and transfer the investigation regarding the case to the Mumbai police. This email was sent at 11.21 AM on April 20 to the ATS Navi Mumbai email id, claiming the planting of explosive devices at Reliance Corporate Park and the Reliance Jamnagar Refinery, which were scheduled to detonate within 30 minutes.

Moreover, the Peninsula Business Park in the Mumbai Currey Road area was the target of a previous hoax call. CIO Bulletin views this increase in hoax calls and emails threatening harm to infrastructure and civilians as necessitating the cyber division of Mumbai Police to remain vigilant at all times while holding the perpetrators accountable for attempting to instill fear and disrupt the normal life of the city’s residents. This should be backed up with firm action on the ground to reassure citizens of their safety at all times.