A 51-year-old astrologer from Patna, now living in Noida, was arrested by Mumbai Police on Saturday for allegedly sending a hoax WhatsApp threat about Pakistani terrorists carrying 400 kilograms of RDX, in what police described as an act of revenge against a former friend.
The suspect, identified as Ashwini Kumar, was tracked to Sector 79 in Noida and taken into custody. Officers said he had been living there with his parents since 2020, though he originally hails from Patliputra Colony in Patna.
According to investigators, Kumar had nursed a grudge against his acquaintance Firoz, a Bihar resident, who had lodged a case against him in 2023 that resulted in three months in jail. To implicate Firoz in a terror case, he allegedly sent the threat message using his name.
The message, addressed to the Mumbai Traffic Police’s WhatsApp helpline, claimed that 34 vehicles had been fitted with explosives and that 14 Pakistani terrorists had entered the country. It further said the bombs would “shake the entire city” and bore the name of an organisation called ‘Lashkar-e-Jihadi’.
Police said the hoax caused a security scare as Mumbai was already on high alert ahead of Anant Chaturdashi, the concluding day of Ganesh festival celebrations. “The accused,” officers stated, “allegedly sent the threat message in his friend Firoz’s name to implicate him in a terror case.”
During the arrest, police seized seven mobile phones, three SIM cards, six memory card holders, one external SIM slot, two digital cards and four SIM holders from Kumar’s possession.
The Crime Branch, which took over the probe, traced the mobile number used for the message to Gautam Buddha Nagar, following which a team travelled to Noida and apprehended him. An officer confirmed the accused was being brought to Mumbai to be produced before court later in the day.
A case has been registered at Worli police station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Police said the threat message was fabricated to frame Firoz, but nonetheless security checks and combing operations were stepped up across Mumbai.
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