According to Assistant Commissioner of Police M S Kevlani, while the newly installed machine, worth Rs 1300, at the PCR helped policemen trace such mischevious calls -- most of which were made school and college students -- the department was yet to receive such calls in the last four days.

Police personnel at the PCR said that they received five to 10 hoax and prank calls -- with some callers even abusing the policemen -- everyday that inconvenienced them a lot. Even worse, such callers would sometimes inform the control room of a fire or a mishap at a particular place which turned out to be false after verifications, they added.

Even Commissioner of Police J Mahapatra was not spared by such pranksters. Once a caller informed him that his neighbour had piled up a huge stock of illicit liquor, which was found to be false on verification. According to Mahapatra, such calls stopped only after he warned the callers that he had got their number and would get them arrested.