Bhubaneswar, Nov. 11: The city police went into a tizzy this morning following a telephone call threatening to bomb the Shaheed Nagar residence of Rajya Sabha member and Biju Janata Dal leader Pyari Mohan Mohapatra. A police control room van was rushed to the leader’s house.

The caller, believed to be mentally ill, was later arrested from Nayagarh district.

Mohapatra said he had received such calls in the past and was not unduly bothered.

Sources said the deputy commissioner of police’s office in Saheed Nagar received the call in the morning. The call was immediately transmitted to the control room and a PCR van was rushed to the Mohapatra’s residence.

The police traced the call to Sunakhela in Nayagarh district and a team was dispatched to arrest the culprit. Police commissioner B.K. Sharma said: “We have arrested the person and are interrogating him. He seems to have a mental problem. We are trying to ascertain his antecedents. The family members of the caller will also be questioned.”

Sharma said the callers’ wife had informed police that her husband was undergoing treatment for mental problems.

“I have never been scared of such calls. Earlier I too have received threat calls. When I came to know about police presence in my home, I immediately asked the Saheed Nagar police inspector to withdraw the force,” Mohapatra said.