Drunk man claims blasts, creates ruccus at Noida police station

Noida, Oct 3 (IANS) A drunken man created a scene outside a Noida police station in the wee hours Friday by claiming that the recent bomb blasts in the country were his handiwork.

Ankur Soni, 27, son of a retired army official, had officials at the Sector-39 police station in a tizzy when he told them in a drunken state that all the blasts in the country since the past year had been done by him. He had even called up the police control room with his tale.

He was let off after the police verified his antecedents.

According to Anil Samania, the police station house officer, when he reached the police station after taking a round, he found the man in a drunken state.

'I had just returned to the police station after looking at some other matter when I found Soni standing at the entrance of the station. When I asked him what was the matter, he replied, 'Uncle, I have said all this and there's no truth in it. I was not in my proper senses and have said some things that are false.' He had called up the police control room from his father's mobile phone on Thursday at 2.30 a.m.,' Samania said.

'We found that he is the son of a retired army Lieutenant Colonel and was staying close by in Sector-41. He works with a call centre in Noida. After consulting my senior officials and trusting the apology tendered by his father, we asked both son and father to sign a declaration not to repeat the incident in future,' Samania said.

Soni works with the Noida-based call centre of Barclays Bank and has completed his graduation in Travel and Tourism from Canada. He did his schooling from Delhi Public School-Noida. His father is employed with a private construction firm in New Delhi. Ankur has an elder sister too.

Ankur Soni said: 'It was a mistake, I admit. I was under extreme depression and had taken some drink due to which I do not know what I spoke at the time. I belong to a highly respectable family of senior army and government officers. I have apologized to the police about the incident and promised never to commit such an offence in future.'

His father Arun Kumar Soni said: 'We have apologised to senior police officials. The matter is behind us and I have told him to behave.'