Ahmedabad Hoax Bomb Threats Linked to Bangladesh, Pakistan

Preliminary investigations into two recent hoax bomb threats targeting multiple locations in Ahmedabad, including the Narendra Modi Stadium, have revealed that the email accounts used were operated from Bangladesh and Pakistan, officials informed news agency Press Trust of India. The Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch also indicated a potential network involved in the selling of hacked email accounts.

The first incident was registered on October 7, when bomb threat emails were sent from two distinct email addresses to 16 locations across Ahmedabad. These targets included ten schools, the Gujarat High Court, other city courts, and the Narendra Modi Stadium. The messages referenced Khalistan and contained threats of explosions at singer Diljit Dosanjh's scheduled shows on November 1 in Delhi and November 21 at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Early findings suggested these email accounts were operated from Bangladesh and Rawalpindi in Pakistan, with old email accounts allegedly obtained and utilized for sending the threats.

A second case was registered on October 27 following another email threatening 19 locations, comprising 14 schools, various government offices, courts, and the Narendra Modi Stadium. This message also referred to Khalistan, warning of blasts in Ahmedabad and cautioning against attending Dosanjh's November 21 show. An examination of email headers and information from Gmail indicated that this account had been operated from Rangpur in Bangladesh and Lahore in Pakistan, according to PTI.

The Cyber Crime Branch is actively investigating both cases in coordination with central agencies. This probe is examining similar links to an earlier case where Gujarat Police arrested a man from West Bengal for issuing similar bomb threats in the name of a Khalistani organization. In that instance, the accused had sold hacked Gmail accounts to a person in Bangladesh, who then sold them to someone in Pakistan in exchange for cryptocurrency. Investigations had previously found that individuals based in Pakistan were sending threatening emails ahead of festivals and other important events to create fear.

What to watch: Further developments in the investigation as authorities work to dismantle the network behind these threats.

Editor's note: The report is comprehensive and accurately reflects the details provided in the full text.