Bomb threat at Sec’bad hotel turns out to be hoax

Hyderabad: A bomb threat to Ashoka Lodge, located across from Secunderabad railway station, early Thursday morning was later turned out to be a hoax. Police identified the caller, a mentally unstable individual, and took him to the Institute of Mental Health in Erragadda, Hyderabad, for evaluation.
According to police, at around 1 am, the Hyderabad police control room received a call about a bomb planted at the lodge-cum-hotel. The call was immediately forwarded to Gopalapuram police station, and all departments were alerted.
Police, along with a dog squad, swiftly conducted a thorough search of the multi-storey hotel and its surroundings. They declared the threat to be false. The caller was later identified.
Authorities said the caller, a homeless man from Peddapalli district, was residing in Abids and made a living by begging. Due to his mental health issues, his wife had abandoned him, and his condition worsened following his mother's death a few months ago. He had previously made similar threat calls to police and had been counselled. The man was also known to circulate fake messages claiming the death of a relative, according to a police official.
A case has been filed at Gopalapuram police station, and further investigation is underway, the official added.