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'Bombay' heard as 'bomb': 6 Kerala Muslim teens detained in Mumbai

  • The Kerala youths didn't know Hindi or English, and were conversing in Malayalam
  • Some passengers in a local train mistook their youths pronunciation of "Bombay" as "bombs" 
  • The youths were subsequently handed over to the RPF officers of Vashi 
  • They were supposed to go to Ratnagiri to attend a function at a madarsa
Bombay bomb 6 Kerala Muslim youths detained Mumbai

Six youths from Kerala landed in trouble in Mumbai because of their accent after some passengers in a local train mistook their pronunciation of "Bombay" as "bombs" and approached the RPF, who detained them. 

The youths were allowed to go only a day later on Tuesday, after the RPF and the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) questioned them thoroughly.

"These men were travelling in a Panvel-CST local train. Some co-passengers heard them talking in a suspicious manner. One of the co-passengers got down at Kurla station and approached the RPF," said Sachin Bhalode, senior divisional security commissioner, Central Railway. 

The train had left Kurla station by the time the police reached there. "The message was given to the RPF, CST. The men were detained after they alighted at CST (Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus)," Bhalode said. 

The youths were subsequently handed over to the RPF officers of Vashi as Panvel comes under Vashi division. 

Explaining the incident, an RPF official said since the youths didn't know Hindi or English, they were conversing in their local language. "They were typing words like 'bomb' in their WhatsApp messages, which aroused suspicion of their co-passengers in the train," he said. 

The youths were supposed to go to Ratnagiri to attend a function at a madarsa there. 

"However, before heading to Ratnagiri, the men decided to go for sight seeing in Mumbai with their relatives. Hence they boarded the local train from Panvel," he explained. 

The official said that besides RPF, the ATS also questioned the youths, but nothing suspicious was found. "They were allowed to go and no case has been registered against them," he added.

The youths, whose names were not disclosed by the authorities, arrived in Mumbai through a train from Kerala on Monday. 

(with PTI inputs)

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