Retired manager of Doctors Park arrested over bomb scare
Doctors Park along 3rd Parklands Avenue in Nairobi. A former manager of the building, which was on January 30, 2020 screened, has been arrested on suspicion of dropping a note which alleged that there was a bomb. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The noted was found by tenants at the main entrance to toilets on the fifth floor.
- DCI investigations and CCTV footage placed the suspect at the centre of investigations.
- The suspect is alleged to have dropped the note two days after she retired from her position.
A former manager of Doctors Park, which was last week screened by officers from the DCI Bomb Disposal Unit and Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) for explosives, has been arrested.
This follows a bomb scare after a note was found in the building located along 3rd Parklands Avenue in Nairobi.
The suspect is being held by police on suspicion of drafting the note which claimed that a bomb had been planted in the building.
Ms Meera Dinesh Patel was arrested on Sunday by ATPU detectives following a hunt that started on Thursday, the same day the note was found.
SPOTTED
Witnesses said the suspect had been spotted at the building around the same time that the note was sighted.
The note was found by tenants at the main entrance to the toilets on the fifth floor.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations corroborated this evidence with the building’s CCTV footage obtained earlier that placed the suspect at the centre of investigations.
“She remains in custody pending her arraignment. We warn members of the public against engaging in such hoaxes,'' the DCI said on Twitter.
RETIRED
The suspect is alleged to have dropped the note two days after she left her position. She was later replaced.
“Ms Dinesh had expressed interest in taking up the manager’s position but she was not successful,” said the DCI on Twitter.
The note caused panic in the entire building, forcing tenants to stop their activities to pave the way for a search.
Evidence of the thorough search was the dismantled attic and parts of the bathroom.
The incident happened at a time when the country is on high alert over terror-related activities after the January 5 attack at Camp Simba, a military base in Lamu County that is used by both Kenyans and Americans.
