Karnataka terror alert declared hoax, ex-army man arrested from Bengaluru

The alert about terror attack in as many as seven southern states has been declared as hoax. In a dramatic turn of events, the Bengaluru (Rural) Police arrested a former army man for making the call. “It was a hoax call. Sundara Murthy, a retired army personnel has been arrested for making the call,” Bengaluru (Rural) SP Ram Nivas Sepat said. Murthy was a driver in Indian Army and had retired from service in 1995. The development comes a day after the state police issued an alert to seven states and one Union Territory warning them about terrorists planning major attacks on trains in the coming days.

The Karnataka DGP had written to top police officials in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Goa, Maharashtra and Pondicherry, alerting them about terror attacks being planned on trains. The letter also talked about the presence of 19 terrorists in Tamil Nadu's Ramanathapuram.

The letter was issued to DGPs of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Pondicherry, Goa and Maharashtra, DGP RPF (New Delhi), along with Bengaluru Police Commissioner, ADGP (Railways), ADGP (Law and Order) and IGP (Intelligence, Bengaluru).

Swamy had also claimed about the presence of 19 terrorists in Ramanathapuram, the letter added. 

Principal secretary to Tamil Nadu govt has also communicated the information to Tamil Nadu Police for necessary action.

The warning comes close to the heels of the dastardly terror attack on hotels and churches in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday which claimed over 250 lives, including 10 Indians, and left over 500 injured.

The ISSI group has claimed responsibility for the Easter terror attacks on three Catholic churches and three luxury hotels but the government has blamed a local Islamist extremist group, National Tawheed Jamath (NTJ), for the bombings.

Indian intelligence agencies had warned their Sri Lankan counterparts about a possible terror attack hours before a series of explosions ripped through the island nation. The Indian government source said similar messages had been sent Sri Lankan intelligence agents on April 4 and April 20.