An offence has been registered against a man in Thane district for allegedly making a hoax call about a fire so that encroachment on the road leading to the spot would be cleared.
The man called the Badlapur fire station and informed that a huge fire had broken out in a building in Khau Galli area. When a fire department team rushed to the location, they found that a car had blocked the approach road, a police official said.
The accused was sitting in the car. When asked to clear the way, he allegedly asked the fire officials to clear the encroachment on the road and then proceed.
He also informed them that there was no fire but he had made a hoax call to get the fire department to clear the encroachment. Badlapur fire station officer Bhagwat Sonawane said such pranks should not be tolerated as they waste precious time and resources, and police should take serious action against the accused.