Bomb threat mail claims blast to rock Bengaluru on Saturday, demands $2.5 million
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and several cabinet ministers on Tuesday received a threat mail.
According to ANI, the email was sent by a person named Shahid Khan, who has claimed that an explosion will rock Bengaluru at 2:48 pm on Saturday.
The email was sent by a person using the email address Shahidkhan10786@protonmail.com.
“What are your thoughts on the movie trailer? If you don’t provide us with 2.5 million dollars, we will cause large explosions on buses, trains, temples, hotels and public areas throughout Karnataka,” the mail read as per ANI.
“We want to show you one more trailer. We are going to explode the next one in the Ambari Utsav bus. After the Ambari Utsav bus blast, we will raise our demands on social media. And will upload screenshots of the mail sent to you on social media. We will tweet information about the next explosion,” it stated.
The email has threatened that the explosion will take place at busy places like restaurants, temples, buses or trains, targeting CM Siddaramaiah, deputy CM DK Shivakumar, state home minister and the Bengaluru top cop, the report added.
According to the report, the email demanded a ransom of $2.5 million dollars, or roughly ₹20 crore to refrain from bombing the city. A case has been registered and investigation is underway.
On the bomb threat mail, Shivakumar said: “We don’t know whether it is bogus, fraud, true, false or blackmailer. We have sent it to our police officers. They are on the job.”
The bomb threat mail has been sent days after an improvised explosive device (IED) blast rocked Rameshwaram Cafe, a popular eatery in Bengaluru on March 1. At least 10 people were injured in the blast and are undergoing treatment at hospitals.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the probe into the explosion. “We are looking at all the possible angles including the role of IS cadres since there have been similar blasts in Coimbatore and Mangaluru in the past few years,” an NIA officer had told HT.
The Bengaluru Police had registered a case under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Explosives Substances Act in connection with the explosion at the cafe.
“It was a low-intensity blast. A youth came and kept a small bag which exploded after an hour. About 10 people received injuries. 7-8 teams formed to probe the incident. We are looking at all angles. I ask every resident of Bengaluru to not worry,” Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar was quoted by ANI as saying.
“We are continuing our investigation. 8 teams have been formed and all are working in different directions and looking at different aspects. We have collected several CCTV footages. We are examining every angle including if there is any jealousy factor. I also appeal to the opposition to cooperate with us and not to make this a political issue,” state home minister G Parameshwara had said.