Bengaluru Police Commissioner gets bomb threat from 'Jaish-e-Mohammed'; KIA, top malls named as targets

File photo

Bengaluru police have launched a major investigation following a detailed bomb threat emailed directly to the city’s police commissioner, prompting high alert at Kempegowda International Airport and several prominent shopping centres. Authorities have since classified the threat as a hoax.

The email, sent to the commissioner’s official address at 11.53 am on November 30, read, "This is a warning from the Jaish-e-Mohammed white collar terror team.” According to the First Information Report (FIR) filed by police, it named specific targets: the international airport, Orion Mall, Lulu Mall, Forum South Mall and Mantri Square Mall.

The threat explicitly warned of bomb explosions “from 7 pm onwards”. The message, as per TOI report, also contained a phone number and indicated the purported attacks could be averted by calling the number and making a payment, a detail investigators are treating as a potential extortion attempt.

Police have registered a case under Section 66F of the Information Technology Act, a stringent provision pertaining to cyber terrorism. The FIR has been lodged against an unknown individual at the city’s cyber crime police station. The sender identified themselves as ‘Mohit Kumar’ via a Gmail account, a lead detectives are now pursuing.

“The investigation is currently ongoing as authorities work to trace the sender of the hoax threat email,” a senior officer was cited by TOI as saying. While security was discreetly heightened at the mentioned locations as a precaution, operations continued normally after thorough checks.

The use of a proscribed terrorist organisation’s name adds a sinister dimension to the hoax, officials noted. Cyber crime specialists are now forensically examining the digital trail of the email.

The focus remains on identifying the individual behind the ‘Mohit Kumar’ account and determining the origin of the threat, which police believe was intended to create widespread alarm and possibly facilitate financial gain.