Two Chennai men held over bomb threats to Gujarat High Court and Surat court

Two men from Surat were arrested in Chennai after allegedly sending hoax emails threatening to blow up the Gujarat High Court and the Surat sessions court, police said.

The emails were sent on September 5 at 11:57 a.m. and 11:59 a.m. from a new account created under a false name. Police said the threats were intended to disrupt proceedings and help Mahammad Asfaq avoid a trial hearing at the Surat sessions court that day. Asfaq, 28, had not appeared for the hearing.

Police identified the suspects as Asfaq and Rajesh, also known as Raj, 33. They were arrested within 48 hours after the emails were sent. Investigators said they traced the pair through technical analysis, surveillance and human intelligence.

According to police, the two men had travelled to Chennai looking for a cannabis supplier and allegedly planned the threats there. Asfaq created the email account while travelling by train from Mumbai to Chennai. The pair changed hotels and locations, used different email accounts, SIM cards registered in other people’s names, several Wi-Fi networks and proxy or other technical methods to conceal their identities and location. Police said the messages were sent while the men were on a moving train.

Asfaq had previously been jailed in a narcotics case and was released on parole. Police said he failed to return to prison after the parole period ended and had been absconding for about nine months. Rajesh had previously been held with him at Lajpore Jail. Police records show Asfaq was arrested in a case involving 512 grams of hybrid cannabis, while Rajesh was arrested in a case involving 100.260 grams of mephedrone.

A case has been registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita covering criminal intimidation involving threats to cause death or serious injury, anonymous criminal intimidation, and identity theft under the Information Technology Act.