Mumbai: Man sets cops on ‘childhood friend’ with terror claim

The Mumbai crime branch is trying to trace the location of the caller’s number. Representation pic

Around 1.30 am on Monday, the control room of the Pune police received a call from a United States number. The caller, Arth Panchal, claimed that one Harsh Zaveri who works at a private company in Worli was involved in terrorist activities. The Mumbai police's crime branch was alerted and cops launched an investigation. They visited the Worli office and learned that Zaveri, an IIT-B graduate, had moved to London, where he works for a prominent software firm, sources told mid-day.

Jealousy

"Upon contacting Zaveri, he disclosed that Panchal is his friend from school in Gujarat, and they were still in touch, but he was unaware of the motive behind the call. Zaveri suggested that Panchal's actions might have stemmed from academic jealousy, as he claimed to have excelled since school," one of the officers from the crime branch said.

However, sources said that considering the sensitive nature of the matter, they decided to investigate Panchal as well. His background has been verified with his family, who claimed that he has been residing in the US for the past three-four years. Police contacted Panchal again and told him about the incorrect information on Zaveri. He then claimed that it was a mistake and that the man is in Pune currently, said sources, adding that his number has been switched off since.

Call being traced

However, the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) is actively working to trace the caller's location. Police suspect he may be in India and could have used a spoofing app to evade authorities. "The technical aspects of the case are being explored to pinpoint the exact location of the caller. If the caller is indeed in the US, legal procedures will be initiated to bring him to India," an officer said.