The suspect who had allegedly called the Police tip-off hotline 118 last week, triggering a security scare in Akurana, was remanded until 4 May by the Colombo Magistrate’s Courts in Hulftsdorp last afternoon (22).

On Wednesday (19), an anonymous call to the Police hotline 118, which had made a false claim of an impending bomb attack targeting mosques in the Akurana area during Ramadan prayers, triggered a security scare after the local Police issued warnings to places of worship in the locality. 

The warning and the delay in clarifying the information by the Police Department led to many residents of Akurana panicking about their safety.

The Police later deployed in numbers to Akurana as a preventive measure and to calm the fears of residents.

According to Police Spokesperson SSP Nihal Thalduwa, the 21-year-old suspect, a resident of Harispattuwa and reportedly a young Moulawi, was arrested yesterday morning following an investigation into the matter by the Police cyber crimes unit.

According to the Police, the suspect had on Wednesday (19) called the 118 online emergency complaint system and falsely claimed that there was an impending bomb attack on mosques in Akurana during Muslim devotees’ prayers on the holy month of Ramadan.

The resultant security scare, which came in the backdrop of the fourth anniversary of the Easter Sunday bombings carried out by a group of extremists in 2019, further compounded fears of the residents of Akurana.

The Police are yet to respond to questions regarding the procedure followed by them in handling the matter, which clearly indicates the current response mechanism is vulnerable to exploitation by fake news and fear-mongering.