Police identify man behind series of false bomb threats, suspect is hiding in Telangana Today

Nagpur City Police Special Branch identified the man as Jagdish Uikey, author of a book on terrorism, who was arrested in 2021 in a case

Nagpur: Maharashtra Police Nagpur have identified a 35-year-old man from Gondia in the state as the person behind a wave of false bomb threats that caused panic, caused flight delays and led to increased security at airports and elsewhere, the official said.

The special branch of the Nagpur city police identified the man as Jagdish Uikey, author of a book on terrorism, who was arrested in 2021 in connection with the case, he added. “Uikey is currently on the run after it was discovered that these emails came from him,” a senior police official said.

An investigation led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Shweta Khedkar revealed detailed information linking Uikey to the emails. Uikey sent emails to various government bodies, including Chancellery of the Prime Minister (PMO), Minister of Railways, Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde and his deputy, airline offices, Director General of Police (DGP) i Railway Protection Guard (RPF), the official said.

Nagpur police on Monday increased security outside the deputy prime minister and home minister Devendra Fadnaviswas in the city after Uikey sent an email threatening a protest if he was not given a chance to come forward with information about a secret terrorist code he claimed to have deciphered.

He also asked for a meeting with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss their knowledge about terrorist threats, he added. Uikeya’s email on October 21 to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and also forwarded to the DGP and RPF resulted in security measures being introduced at railway stations, the official said. “A special team has been formed to arrest Uikey,” he said, adding that he would be detained soon.

In the 13 days to October 26, more than 300 flights operated by Indian carriers received false bomb threats. Government agencies previously said most of the threats were sent via social media. On October 22 alone, around 50 flights, including 13 each of IndiGo and Air India, received bomb threats, sources had earlier said.