Bomb scare at sports club turns out to be a child’s movie-inspired prank

Ahmedabad: For ten days, a handwritten note warning of a bomb blast and invoking underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba kept Ahmedabad’s security agencies on the edge. Police examined foreign guests, analysed CCTV footage, scanned digital records and deployed bomb squads — only to discover that the alleged terror threat had originated from an unlikely source: a nine-year-old boy’s prank inspired by a movie.

The note, found on June 1 inside a locker in a room at the sports club of the Sardar Patel Cricket Stadium in Navrangpura had sparked a massive security alert. Written in cursive English, the message threatened an explosion on June 21 and contained references to terrorism, prompting police, bomb disposal teams, dog squads and intelligence agencies to conduct extensive searches at the premises. No explosives or suspicious objects were found.

Investigators initially explored all possible angles, including the possibility that the threat had been planted by foreign nationals who had recently occupied the room. The movements of three foreign businessmen who had stayed at the facility were traced, while CCTV footage, visitor records and other evidence were thoroughly examined.

The mystery was finally solved through the digital lock records of the locker where the note had been hidden. Technical experts recovered access logs showing that the locker had been opened and closed multiple times on May 24 and had not been accessed afterwards.

Police traced the occupants of the room on that day and questioned a family from Surat. During the inquiry, the family’s nine-year-old boy admitted to writing the note with a pencil after watching a recently released film. According to investigators, the child meant it as a joke and placed the paper inside the locker, which was accidentally locked. The family later forgot the access code, leaving the note hidden inside until housekeeping staff opened the locker during routine cleaning days later.

Cops said the child’s parents had no knowledge of the prank and no connection to the contents of the note. Police added that despite the false alarm, the threat had to be treated with complete seriousness due to the references to terrorism and explosives.

Further action in the case will be taken according to legal procedures.