Ponzi scam accused in Lucknow jail sends threat email to Allahabad HC — using cop’s phone

According to police, Mittal sent the threat email to implicate fellow inmates with whom he had a personal dispute.

After learning about the threat email sent on November 4, an inquiry was launched, and the police soon found that the message was sent from the mobile phone of Constable Ajay Kumar, who was posted at the Reserve Police Lines.

The constable, who was taken in custody, told the police that on November 4, he had escorted the undertrial, Anubhav Mittal, to the court for a hearing.

The constable claimed that Mittal had borrowed his cellphone under the pretext of checking the status of his own phone.

Police suspect that Mittal secretly created a new email ID on the constable’s device and scheduled a message to be sent automatically the next morning.

“The email, sent by an unidentified person, claimed that Anandeshwar Agrahari — an inmate lodged in jail for the alleged murder of his wife — intended to kill a judge for denying him bail,” a senior police officer said, adding that the email was sent to both the Prison Department and the Allahabad High Court.

Police found that Mittal orchestrated the act to frame Agrahari due to a personal dispute.

“The inquiry also revealed that this was not Mittal’s first such attempt. Earlier, he had used the mobile phone of a visitor who came to meet him in court to send an email to the Prison Department, making false allegations against Agrihari,” a police officer said.

The visitor had previously been lodged in jail with Mittal before securing bail.

“At that time, the department did not take the matter seriously, and it was brushed aside,” said an officer.

Police had arrested Anubhav Mittal and his wife, Ayushi Mittal, in connection with an alleged Rs 3,700-crore ponzi scam in 2017. The couple had allegedly misled investors by falsely claiming that Mittal’s company was “ISO-certified.”