It is entertainment, argued a gentleman. Life in the state is so drab and with so few diversions, he added, that people have no option but to use the mobile phone as a toy.

The toll-free number, he said, enables people to engage in long conversations without worrying about payment. The fire station appears to be receiving calls from all over the state, including the capital, Jamshedpur and Hazaribagh.

The calls from these places should have been routed to the relevant fire station in those towns.

But because of technical problems yet to be sorted out by mobile service providers, the calls seem to get directed to any toll-free number that is free at the moment.

Thakur recalled an instance when the station received information about a fire at a house adjacent to the SP’s residential quarters.

Fire-tenders which rushed there found no evidence of fire and returned following the false alarm.

But investigation later revealed that the call was from Hazaribagh and that indeed there was a fire in the house next to the Hazaribagh SP’s official quarters.

Both the fire station officer and the SP complained of “non-cooperation” by service providers like Reliance, Airtel and even BSNL.

The SP told The Telegraph that the case had been referred to the DSP but though the latter had summoned representatives of service-providers and demanded addresses, they have still not been furnished.

Dhanbad is obviously not the only fire station receiving such calls. Around two months ago, a television channel had reported similar calls received by the fire station at Ranchi too.

But the episode is being dismissed as an innocent prank by bored men and women.