Mohammad Akbar

A thief who discarded a stolen briefcase on a bus because it contained nothing of value was mistaken for a terrorist on Friday, adding one more to the series of false alarms that began with a hoax terror mail.

“Eta jangi… briefcase-e bomb aache aar ekhane rekhe palache…oke dharo (he’s a terrorist…there’s a bomb in the briefcase he has left here and he’s fleeing…catch him),” shouted one of Mohammed Akbar’s co-passengers as he got off a Jadavpur-bound Calcutta State Transport Corporation bus near Fort William.

As if on cue, almost everyone else in the bus chorused: “Catch him…catch him”. Defence employee Partha Dasgupta, who had just boarded the bus, ran after Akbar, caught him and dragged him back into the vehicle.

When Akbar protested, he was asked to open the briefcase, inside which were a bundle of wires and some amplifiers. More panic.

The bus driver sped towards Birla Planetarium, where a traffic sergeant was on duty. A couple of passengers alighted and were narrating what had happened to the sergeant when Akbar popped something into his mouth.

“Bish kheye nilo, sir (he has consumed poison, sir),” someone screamed.

To everyone involved in the drama, this was confirmation of Akbar being a terrorist on a bombing mission.

A message to Lalbazar brought in the bomb disposal squad, which did not find any explosives in the briefcase. Akbar was then taken for a medical examination to confirm that there was no trace of cyanide or any such killer substance in his body.

Deputy commissioner (south) Rajesh Subarno later interrogated Akbar at Maidan police station.

The youth, in his mid-30s, said he stole the briefcase from a mini bus in Dalhousie thinking it contained cash or valuables. He decided to get rid of the bag on discovering that there was nothing in it.

“He is a resident of Topsia. Raids are on to arrest three of his associates,” an officer said.

A second bomb scare was reported from Calcutta Medical Research Institute, where a parked vehicle was thought to contain explosives. Nothing was found. Around 12.30pm, a bank on Lenin Sarani received a call about bombs being planted in the building. The bomb disposal squad declared the building safe after a search.