Tirumala: Tirumula police have arrested a man for making a threat call and claiming that a bomb blast would take place at the Alipiri checkpoint on 15 August, Tuesday. He was later remanded to police custody. Tirumula DSP Bhaskar Reddy said the accused has confessed that he had made the bomb threat call.

The accused has been identified as Balaji (39) who is a native of Salem town in Tamil Nadu. According to the police, Balaji made a phone call to the staff of Alipiri toll plaza on Independence Day at around 11.25 am and said there was a bomb at the toll gate and it would go off at around 3 pm the same day.

The caller also said that the explosion will cause a major destruction and over 100 people will be killed in the blast. After receiving a threat call, the management of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) immediately alerted the police and the bomb disposal squad searched the entire area and later realised that the threat was a hoax as they found nothing suspicious during their search operation.

The police official has warned the mischief makers against creating panic among people with hoax bomb calls and said if anyone found resorting to this would be dealt with severely.