Gujarat police arrest West Bengal man for series of bomb hoax threats

In a major breakthrough, the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) and Cyber Crime Cell of Ahmedabad City Police have arrested a West Bengal-based youth allegedly linked to a series of mass hoax bomb threats that triggered panic across schools and courts in Gujarat over the past few months.The accused, identified as Sourav Biswas, was apprehended from West Bengal in a joint operation and brought to Gujarat on transit remand. A court in Ahmedabad has granted police custody of the accused for 14 days to facilitate further interrogation.
In a brief statement, the DCB said investigative teams are currently questioning the suspect to uncover the motive, identify potential accomplices, and determine the technical methods used to bypass security protocols. Officials added that further details of the probe will be shared on March 5.
Police sources claimed that Biswas was allegedly operating as a “reseller of hacked Gmail accounts,” which were sold for around $3 per account. Investigators suspect these compromised accounts were used by cybercrime networks to send threatening emails while masking their identities and confusing the origin of the messages.Sources further indicated that some associates linked to the network have been traced to locations in Bangladesh. Officials clarified that Biswas was not the individual who directly sent the threat emails but was allegedly part of a broader cybercrime gang facilitating such operations.Investigators are also probing possible links between the gang and elements associated with the so-called Khalistan movement. According to sources, the use of hacked foreign-based email accounts may represent a new modus operandi designed to evade detection and mislead investigators regarding the geographical source of the threats.
Over the past two months, multiple educational institutions and court complexes across Gujarat received bomb threat emails, leading to evacuations and extensive security checks.On February 17, district courts in Vadodara, Valsad, Rajkot, Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar were evacuated after receiving bomb threats via email. A day earlier, on February 16, as many as 40 schools in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Vadodara districts were targeted with similar threats. After thorough inspections by security agencies, all the threats were declared hoaxes.Earlier incidents include bomb threat emails sent on February 2 to the Rajkot District and Sessions Court complex, the Rajkot District Collectorate and the Gir-Somnath District Court at Veraval, prompting evacuations and searches. On January 23, 17 schools in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar districts were also targeted with similar hoax emails.Several of the emails reportedly named Amit Shah and jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi as targets, while referring to the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada and invoking extremist rhetoric. Issue is KHALISTAN REFERENDUM-Attwadi Hindu Amit Shah Will Face Consequences, the email read, alongside other provocative statements. Authorities have described the language used in the emails as incendiary and intended to create fear, spread panic and disrupt public order.

(State Correspondent)