More than 600 police personnel led by three DCP-rank officials were involved in the search operation.
A phone call made by a drunk man to his wife that he was being kidnapped and taken to an undisclosed location for being killed sent hundreds of police personnel in Hingna area of Nagpur city into tizzy for several hours, although later it came to light that he had made the call under the influence of liquor and the claim he had made was false, an official said on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old man finally returned home Wednesday morning, after informing his friend that he had consumed "too much liquor" and slept somewhere, the police official said.
"The man, identified as Gajendra Kohre, a resident of Gumgaon Road, had called his wife on Tuesday midnight and told her that he met with a road accident and a group of people blamed him for the mishap. He told her that the group was taking him to an unidentified location in a large vehicle and trying to kill him. Thereafter, he switched off his mobile phone," he said.
Panicked after his call, his wife immediately contacted Hingna police station and narrated to them what her husband had told her. Sensing the gravity of the matter, the police staff alerted senior police officials, he added.
"The police then registered a case under IPC section 365 (kidnapping) and tried to trace the last location of his mobile phone. More than 600 police personnel led by three DCP-rank officials were involved in the search operation for the entire night. But they failed to get any clue about him," he said.
However, at 7.30 am, Mr Kohre made a phone call to his friend and told him that he was sleeping at some place as he had consumed too much liquor.
His friend them immediately alerted Mr Kohre's wife, who in turn informed the police about it.
Finally, the man returned home at 9.30 am, police said.
According to the official, police suspect that he might have made the phone call to his wife due to some family dispute. Further probe into the incident is on.
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