4 schools in Mumbai, Mira Road receive emails threatening bomb blasts; police file ‘cyber terrorism’ case, begin hunt for sender

According to Mumbai police sources, Nupur Agarwal, the admission officer of Kanakia International School in Govandi, received a threatening email on the school’s official email ID Saturday morning. The sender allegedly used an email account opened in the name Divij Prabhakar Lakshmi.

The email said, “Bomb blast in your school at Monday 1:00 p.m. to provide justice to rape victim in Hyderabad. We are going to bomb blast to provide justice to rape victim and dowry victim. Police is sleeping they cannot do anything they don’t know to investigate properly.”

Later, it was discovered that the admission officers of the same educational group’s Mira Road and Bhayander schools also received the same email. Following this, the school’s security officer, Manohar Naik filed a complaint with the Deonar police Sunday.

An FIR was registered at the Deonar police station on Sunday under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for threats that created fear in public. Notably, the police also invoked Section 66F of the Information Technology (IT) Act, which deals with cyber terrorism.

Ryan International School in Kandivali (East) Thakur Complex Saturday also received a similar email claiming that a bomb blast was planned at the school. The accused again used the same email ID in the name of Divij Prabhakar Lakshmi. But, on examining the school premises, the threat was found to be a hoax. The Samata Nagar police registered a case in this regard against an unidentified person.

The police are attempting to identify the sender by tracing the IP address of the system used to send the email.

A Mumbai police officer confirmed that the email was received by the schools, but it was a hoax. “We are trying to trace the person who was behind the mischief,” the senior officer said.

The Crime Branch of the Mumbai police is also conducting a parallel investigation in this matter and is attempting to identify the culprit.

Last month, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, along with the state’s sports secretary and the administration, received multiple email threats. The sender threatened a bomb blast at Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium and referenced “Divij Prabhakar Lakshmi” and a rape case in Hyderabad.

Rajasthan’s administrative machinery was put on high alert after collectorates in Sikar, Pali, Bhilwara, and Dausa received emails claiming that explosives had been planted on their premises.