Threat Of A “26/11-Type” Attack Is Received By Mumbai Traffic Police Over Whatsapp, Probe Launched

The Mumbai Traffic Police’s control room has received several text messages threatening a “26/11-type” attack on the WhatsApp number for its hotline, an official said on Saturday.

He said, “Around 11 p.m. on Friday, text messages were received on the WhatsApp number of the Mumbai Police’s traffic hotline operated from the control room located at Worli in central Mumbai.

The municipal criminal bureau has opened an inquiry, he continued, adding that the sender had threatened a 26/11-style assault in the series of texts.

According to Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar, the messages originated from a Pakistani phone number. In regards to Mumbai security, the municipal police and Coast Guard are collaborating, he continued.

The officer stated that while one letter claims that the attack will be carried out by six people, another implies that plans are being made to blow up Mumbai, which will evoke memories of the 26/11 incident.

“We have treated the threat message case—a terrorist attack on Mumbai similar to the one on September 11, 2001—very seriously. All steps to look into the threat have been communicated to the agencies “Devendra Fadnavis, the home minister for Maharashtra, stated.

On November 26, 2008, 166 people were killed and over 300 were injured in one of the most horrifying terrorist attacks in the nation’s history as 10 heavily armed terrorists from Pakistan wreaked havoc in Mumbai.