Wrong tipoff about terrorists at call centre causes panic

A tip-off about the presence of terrorists inside a call centre at Kamta intersection in Chinhat caused panic on August 15 afternoon. Teams of city police and special task force (STF) rushed to the spot only to find that the “terrorists” were security guards hired by the owner of the call centre who were checking their weapons.

The incident happened at Quantam call centre. After receiving information about the presence of armed terrorists at the centre, the police surrounded its triple-storey building at around 2.30 pm . City police force, including senior officials such as ADG Lucknow zone Abhay Prasad and SSP Lucknow Deepak Kumar, jumped into action. The gathering of police personnel in such a large number also caused panic among the locals.

In-charge of Chinhat police station, Anjani Pandey, said, “The confusion was caused due to the call centre owner Rakesh Srivastava’s security guards. They were carrying automatic weapons and entered the building in a rush.” He said it was not a hoax call, rather it seemed that an eyewitness, apprehending trouble, tipped off the police.

The call centre owner was not in the office, said Pandey, adding that he had been summoned for further investigation. “The owner has been asked to produce documents related to the call centre and its functioning. Also, documentation regarding the firearms that his guards carried,” he said.