Google office in Mumbai gets bomb threat, caller taken into custody from Hyderabad

Google’s Mumbai office on Monday received a threat call stating that there was a bomb planted at the tech giant’s Pune office. The caller has been identified as Panayam Shivanand, a native of Hyderabad. Police said that Shivanand has been detained.

Google’s Mumbai office received a threat call on Monday stating that there was a bomb planted at the tech giant’s Pune office, according to police. In Hyderabad, one individual was taken into custody. The caller, identified as Panayam Shivanand from Hyderabad, made the call to the Mumbai BKC office. 

The threat call, which proved out to be a hoax, caused Google's Pune office to be placed on alert for a short while, police said, adding that Pune police and the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad arrived to the scene and conducted exhaustive searches.

An official in Pune informed PTI that Google's office in Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) received a call at 7:54 p.m. on Sunday informing them that a bomb was placed at the company's Pune office, which is housed on the 11th floor of a multi-story commercial building in the Mundhwa neighbourhood.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone V), Vikrant Deshmukh, "the office, located on the 11th floor of a multi-story commercial building in Pune's Mundhwa region, received a call late Sunday night that a bomb was kept in the business premises."

The individual who is accused of making the call acknowledged that he called while drunk. He was located in Hyderabad and taken into custody there, the police said.

According to reports, firm representatives complained to the BKC police, who subsequently filed a FIR under Indian Penal Code Sections 505(1)(B) (intent to cause, or which is likely to create, fear or alarm to the public) and 506 against the then-unidentified individual (criminal intimidation). Further investigation is on into the incident.

(With PTI inputs)