Salem City Police on Tuesday arrested a Bengaluru-based businessman here allegedly for issuing hoax bomb threats to a District Collector, hotels and other senior government officials.
Police identified the accused as Premraj Nair from Bengaluru. He was arrested while he was staying at one of the hotels to which he had issued a bomb threat.
Recently, two luxury hotels here lodged a police complaint that they received bomb threats from an unknown email ID and the suspect allegedly threatened one of the hotels that eight IEDs have been set up at the hotel and threatened to explode them.
On inquiry, police found that on August 5, similar threat calls were made to Coimbatore District Collector, Chief Secretary of Kerala government and a few other officials from a mobile number in Salem. Police found that the mobile phone number was owned by a tea stall owner Rani near Siddhanur and she had reportedly complained of her mobile phone being stolen from her few days before the incident.
Police found that the mobile phone number was recharged from a store near the Salem Railway junction and by checking the CCTV footages from the vicinity, police traced the car with Karnataka registration that was used by the accused. Based on a tip-off, police arrested the accused from a hotel here and also seized Premraj’s car, the mobile phone and his laptop.
On inquiry, police found that Premraj has lost over ₹7 crore in business and he has given threat calls to businesses and officials to get that money. Police said in a release that a case has been taken by Cyber Crime police and a separate case has been registered in Salem Steel Plant police station for theft of mobile phone.
