Police identify Nagpur man behind hoax bomb threats against airlines

A special team has been formed to arrest the man.

Nagpur:

Police in Maharashtra’s Nagpur have identified a 35-year-old man from Gondia in the state as the person behind a spate of hoax bomb threats that triggered panic, caused flight delays and led to heightened security at airports and other establishments, an official said.

The special branch of Nagpur city police has identified the man as Jagdish Uikey, an author of a book on terrorism, who was arrested in a case in 2021, he said.

“Uikey is currently on the run after these emails were traced back to him,” the senior police official said.

The investigation, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Shweta Khedkar, unearthed detailed information linking Uikey to the emails.

Uikey sent emails to various government agencies including Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Railway Minister, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy, airline offices, Director General of Police ( DGP) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF), the official said.

On Monday, Nagpur police beefed up security outside Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ residence in the city after Uikey sent an email threatening to protest unless he was given a chance to provide his information present about the secret terror code he claimed to have deciphered. He also requested a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss his knowledge of terror threats, he added.

Uikey’s email sent to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on October 21 and also forwarded to the DGP and RPF led to security measures at railway stations, the official said.

“A special team has been formed to arrest Uikey,” he said, adding that he will arrest him soon.

In the thirteen days to October 26, more than 300 Indian airline flights received false bomb threats. Most of the threats were made via social media, government authorities previously said.

On October 22 alone, around 50 flights, including 13 of IndiGo and Air India, received bomb threats, sources said earlier.

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