A man who carried out a bomb hoax in Derby city centre claims he shouted “bum” instead of bomb.
Jayesh Thanki, 49, of Osmaston Road, has been jailed for three years after making a bomb hoax in the city centre, just 15 days after being released from prison for a similar offence.
Thanki was found guilty of making a bomb threat through malicious communication after an incident at The Spot in Derby.
During his trial, Thanki attempted to convince the jury he had shouted “bum” rather than “bomb”, but his explanation was rejected.
Jayesh Thanki, 49, of Osmaston Road, has been jailed for three years after making a bomb hoax in the city centre
Northamptonshire Police
The incident occurred on April 26, 2024, when Thanki shouted that he had a bomb at The Spot in Derby city centre, within earshot of several members of the public.
A council cleaner, who witnessed the incident, immediately called 999.
Police later found Thanki 400 metres away from the scene, where he repeated his bomb threat to the officers.
Sentencing Thanki, Judge Martin Hurst said: “You were in the centre of Derby at an area known as The Spot shouting out loudly so it could be heard by many members of the public including a member of the council cleaning team that you had a bomb.”
MORE LIKE THIS:
The incident occurred on April 26, 2024 in Derby city centre
Wikimedia Commons
The judge highlighted that Thanki was still under supervision for his previous offence in Northampton when he committed the new crime.
“If you come out and do it again, you will be looking at double figures,” Judge Hurst warned.
In May 2021, Thanki had carried out a similar offence in Northampton, making multiple 999 calls claiming he had a bomb and was heading to Weston Favell Police Station.
He arrived at the station wearing a distinctive white face mask and carrying a rucksack strapped to his front, with his hand positioned as if holding a detonation device.
In May 2021, Thanki had carried out a similar offence in Northampton
Flickr
The incident prompted a major response, with the police station being evacuated and eight armed officers, a dog handler and nine unarmed officers deployed to the scene.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Lesley Pidcock told the court that Thanki had already spent eight months in custody.
“He’s not an unintelligent man but what he did was the height of stupidity and he acknowledges that,” Pidcock said.
She added that her client understood the severity of his actions, stating: “He knows offences like this cause massive fear for the public and realises he caused distress.”
