Two days after three individuals were arrested in Vadodara, Gujarat, over a ‘prank’ bomb threat email sent to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Mumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) conducted searches in the Mandvi area. The ATS sought “two more persons, whose names had cropped up during the questioning of the three arrested accused,” according to senior officials.
The team raided optic stores in the area, where the accused allegedly used internet connections to send the email threatening to plant 11 bombs in Mumbai unless Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das resigned.
CCTV records and the internet router used to send the threatening email were confiscated by the police. The email, sent from an ID under the name Khilafat India, targeted key locations, including the RBI, New Central Office building, HDFC bank, and ICICI bank.
The Mumbai Crime Branch arrested three suspects, including Mohammad Arsheel Topala, who works in the share market, Waseem Memon, owner of a paan beedi shop, and Adil Malik, who owns an egg shop. Topala’s mobile was allegedly used to create the email ID.
Malik provided a SIM card with fake documents to Memon, who then gave it to Topala. The Mumbai ATS will continue its investigation in different areas of Vadodara.
In the email, the accused threatened to blow up the RBI, New Central Office building, HDFC bank, and ICICI bank. Vadodara police, providing logistical support to the Mumbai squad, claimed to be unaware of the investigation details. The Mumbai ATS scrutinized CCTV footage and internet router details from an optical shop in Mandvi through which the threatening email was sent.