Panic at Sassoon Hospital after Security guard sends hoax bomb threats

Pune: Chaos broke out at Sassoon General Hospital after a security guard allegedly sent bomb threat messages to a doctor and the medical superintendent, falsely claiming that a bomb had been planted on the premises. The threats triggered panic among hospital staff and patients.

Police, accompanied by the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS), conducted a thorough search of the facility but found no explosives, confirming it was a hoax. After tracing the mobile phone of the accused, the police found that the security guard was involved and arrested him accordingly.

According to police reports, the accused had stolen a mobile phone from a patient in Ward No. 73 and used it to send bomb threat messages on two separate occasions.

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TOI has reported that on May 12, he messaged a doctor claiming a bomb had been planted in the hospital, then switched off the phone. He repeated the act on May 14 by sending a similar threat to the hospital’s medical superintendent before switching off the phone again to prevent investigators from tracing him.

Following the bomb scare, hospital authorities alerted the police. Under the leadership of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 2) Smartana Patil, a special investigation team was formed. Police Sub-Inspector Swapnil Lohar led the investigation, which quickly identified the accused.

Further investigation confirmed the accused's involvement. During police interrogation, he confessed to sending the messages. He was formally arrested on May 14 for spreading false information and disrupting hospital operations.

Police claimed that the accused might have sent the message because he was not in a proper state of mind.

The accused was produced before a magistrate and remanded for 14 days in judicial custody. He has since been sent to Yerawada Central Prison.

Medical Dialogues recently reported that Mumbai's Tata Memorial Hospital was placed on high alert after receiving a threatening email claiming that a bomb had been placed on the premises, which later turned out to be a hoax. While the mail raised serious concerns about security, the police and the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) carried out searches. However, nothing was found.

Also read- Mumbai's Tata Memorial Hospital receives bomb threat email