Surat, July 29 (IANS) Gujarat’s Surat City Cyber Crime Police have arrested a 36-year-old man from Bihar for allegedly sending a bomb threat email to the Surat District Court earlier this month, claiming that the court premises contained “5000 kg RDX Bomb”, police said on Wednesday.
According to the officials, the email was sent at 6:13:19 p.m. on July 13 from an unidentified email address to the official email ID of the Surat District Court.
Police said the message was intended to create fear and insecurity among the public and disturb public peace.
Following the complaint, the Cyber Crime Police Station registered an FIR under Sections 351(3), 351(4), 353(1)(B) and 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with Section 66(F)(2) of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008.
Police identified the accused as Raman Mishra, a native of Dhanuwara village in Darbhanga district of Bihar, who had been residing at Krishnakunj Building in Bahuchar Nagar near Prannath Hospital on Ved Road in Katargam area of Surat. He is currently unemployed.
Police Inspector K.P. Gameti and his team, with assistance from the Cyber Crime Branch’s technical unit, traced the accused through technical analysis before taking him into custody.
According to police, the accused did not use his own handset to send the email.
Investigators alleged that he took the mobile phone of an acquaintance and used it to send the message to the district court’s official email address with the subject stating, “Cort ma (within court) 5000 kg Rdx Bomb”.
During the investigation, police found that the accused had lived in Surat for about a decade and previously worked as a diamond labourer.
He had initially shared rented accommodation with relatives and friends from his native place before moving into a separate room with his wife and children, who had joined him around three months ago.
“For some time, he had stopped working and remained at home, spending much of his time watching Khan Sir’s online classes on YouTube, social media reels and learning to create content using various artificial intelligence platforms,” officials said.
Investigators also alleged that when the mobile internet data on his phone was exhausted, he would use the hotspot connection of friends living in the same apartment to continue his online activities.
Police further said that an examination of his mobile phone revealed a deleted draft email intended to be sent to the official email address of the Supreme Court.
The draft, recovered from the trash folder, contained the line: “Angrej hamare countray ko barbad kar ke gaye hai (Britishers ruined our country).”
Investigators said the draft formed part of the material recovered during the inquiry.
Surat Cyber Crime Police urged the public to keep their mobile phones locked and not hand them over to unknown persons, warning that phone owners could be held responsible if their devices are used to commit criminal offences.
The police also advised victims of financial cyber fraud to immediately call the national cyber helpline 1930, stating that “prompt reporting offers the best chance of freezing funds transferred from bank accounts”.
–IANS
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