Woman makes bomb hoax call to settle a score with hotel; held

Filled with revenge following an argument with a waiter, a 23-year-old woman guest allegedly made a hoax call saying that a bomb has been planted in a hotel at Calangute beach in Goa, sending police into tizzy in the early morning hours before she was traced and arrested.

The woman, identified as Rangoli Patel, was found to be staying with her friend in another hotel near the beach. She is a resident of Mumbai.

Calangute police inspector Jivba Dalvi said the control room in Panaji received the call at 1:15 am, following which a team was sent to the hotel and patrons evacuated.

"The quick reaction team of the Anti-Terrorist Squad was also called at the spot. A bomb disposal squad and a dog unit also carried out the check. Finally, the agencies realised that it was a hoax call," he said.

Subsequently, police traced Patel to a nearby hotel on the basis of the caller data, the officer said.

"During questionning, the woman disclosed she made the hoax call thinking that the hotel would suffer losses because of the bomb threat. She harboured grudge against the hotel management because she and her friend had an argument with a waiter there," Dalvi added.

Patel has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).