Google's Mumbai office receives bomb threat call, 1 person arrested
Google's Mumbai office received a threat call on late on Sunday alleging that a bomb had been planted at the tech giant's Pune facility, News18 reported. Reportedly, Google's Pune office was placed on alert for a short time following the bomb threat call, which turned out to be a hoax, according to the police. One person in Hyderabad has been arrested in this regard.
Accused made calls while drunk: Police
The accused, identified as Panayam Shivanand, admitted that he made the threat call, India.com reported, quoting the police. He also reportedly admitted to contacting the Google office while he was drunk. The police tracked him down to Hyderabad and apprehended him there. Meanwhile, a case has been filed at Mumbai's BKC Police Station, and an investigation is underway.
Nothing suspicious found at Google office: Police officer
Detailing the incident, Pune Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone V) Vikrant Deshmukh said Google's office in the city's Mundhwa, located on the 11th floor of a multi-story commercial building, received a call Sunday night that "a bomb was kept in the office premises." Soon, the Pune Police and the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad carried out extensive searches but found nothing suspicious, he added.
Threat call was hoax; accused arrested from Hyderabad
"The call later turned out to be a hoax. The caller has been traced to Hyderabad and arrested. He allegedly made the call in an inebriated condition," Deshmukh said, adding that further details would be revealed once the investigation is complete.
FIR registered under IPC Sections 505(1)(B), 506
According to News18, the company officials approached the BKC Police Station and reportedly lodged a complaint following the threat call. Based on the complaint, the police registered an FIR against the accused under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 505(1)(B) (intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
Google going layoff way amid financial losses
Separately, the tech titan recently made headlines after nearly 12,000 of its employees worldwide were laid off last month. Although its CEO Sundar Pichai apologized for the layoffs and decided to compensate the fired employees, the situation presented the company with new challenges. Google is reportedly going through tough times following reported financial losses and microeconomic uncertainties.
