New Delhi, Apr 17 (PTI) A 38-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly making a hoax call regarding bombs planted at the Jama Masjid and the Red Fort under the influence of alcohol, police said on Thursday.

Accused Asif made the threat call from a mobile phone he had found in Uttrakhand’s Roorkee and used a lost SIM card in an attempt to evade identification, they added.

On April 10, a call was received on emergency helpline number 112, claiming that bombs were planted at the two prominent locations, following which a case under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered at the Jama Masjid police station, a senior police officer said.

Investigators used digital forensics, technical surveillance, IMEI tracking, call detail records (CDRs) and CCTV analysis to identify the source, he added.

The mobile number was traced to a man named Saddam from Ghaziabad, who had reported that his phone was lost in Kaler, Roorkee, on April 6. Further surveillance led police to Asif, who had found the phone and was using it. He had since vacated his Karawal Nagar residence.

After extensive efforts, the accused was apprehended near the Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital around 11 pm on April 14. During interrogation, he confessed to making the hoax call from the Paharganj area under the influence of alcohol, the officer said.

He later broke the SIM card and disposed it of to cover his tracks, he said, adding that the mobile phone used in the offence has been seized. PTI SSJ RC