‘Prime target were HCs across the country’: What probe reveals after arrest of Karnataka man who sent hoax bomb threats

Sources have now said that Luis sent around 1,500 bomb threat emails to several high courts across the country, including those in Delhi, Mumbai, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Chandigarh. On some days, the Delhi High Court reportedly received such emails twice a day. He also allegedly sent such emails to courts abroad. In Delhi alone, he allegedly sent more than 50 fake emails to the High Court over several months, tagging the Delhi Police Commissioner’s office, sources added.

Last September, the Delhi High Court had received bomb threat emails that were later declared a hoax. One message claimed that three bombs had been planted on the premises and that the building should be vacated by 2 pm. The emails also alleged links with the ISI in Coimbatore and threatened to recreate the 1998 blasts. Following repeated emails, the Delhi High Court directed Delhi Police to identify and apprehend the sender. The cyber cell of the New Delhi district police was assigned the investigation, which eventually led to his arrest after several months.

After the arrest by a team from the Cyber Police of in Mysuru, he was brought to Delhi on March 29 on transit remand. On Monday, he was produced before a city court, which granted six days of police custody for questioning. On Tuesday, a Delhi Police team left with him for Karnataka to verify the locations from where the emails were sent. He has been booked under Section 351 (criminal intimidation) of the BNS and the IT Act.

During questioning, he claimed he wanted to improve security in courts, but the police said they did not rely on this explanation.

“He had created a fake Yahoo email ID to send these messages. He first emailed the Delhi High Court last September and continued sending such emails to HCs in different states. In March, he again sent emails to various High Courts. Some of these were sent using a VPN (virtual private network), while others were sent without it,” a source said.

A police source said that the probe so far suggests that there were hardly one or two states where he did not send such emails. “He targeted almost all high courts, and whenever he sent an email to a high court in a state, he also forwarded it to the head of police of that state,” the source said.

Another source said that no evidence has so far been found of emails being sent to schools or other government offices even as this is still being verified. Police have seized his laptop and three mobile phones, which were allegedly used to send the emails.

According to another police source, the content of the emails varied. These included claims such as bombs being planted in the High Court premises, threats of imminent explosions, instructions to evacuate buildings, warnings that no one would survive, and claims that bombs had been placed at multiple locations. “He appeared to enjoy disrupting court proceedings,” the source said.

In Mysuru, Luis, who is unmarried, lives with his mother, a retired government employee. His brother lives separately. Police suspect his actions may be linked to mental distress. They also found that he frequently made distress calls to police control rooms and dialled 112 to complain about a neighbour in his hometown.