Threat call to Maharashtra chief minister

MUMBAI - An unidentified person called Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan’s bungalow claiming to be a member of the terrorist outfit Al Qaeda, police said Saturday describing it as a “prank call” and that the prankster has been identified.

The person telephoned Chavan’s official residence Friday and asked his whereabouts.

“It was a prank call. We have identified the prankster and will take him into police custody soon,” Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjeev Dayal told IANS.

“No member of a terrorist outfit will threaten after having named the organisation he works for,” he added.

However, Dayal refused to divulge further details of the call or identify the prankster.

Following intelligence inputs that Pakistan-based terrorists may strike during the festive season, the central government has asked state governments to be alert and take steps to foil all such attempts to disrupt peace.