Nagpur cops hunt airline bomb hoaxer
The Nagpur city police's special branch has identified the man as Jagdish Uikey, an author of a book on terrorism, who was arrested in 2021 in a case
PTI
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The investigation, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Shweta Khedkar uncovered detailed information linking Uikey to the emails.PHOTO:PTI
Nagpur, 29 Oct
Police in
Maharashtra's Nagpur have identified a 35-year-old man from Gondia in the state
as the person behind a spate of hoax bomb threats that triggered panic, caused
flight delays and led to increased security at airports and other
establishments, an official said.
The Nagpur
city police's special branch has identified the man as Jagdish Uikey, an author
of a book on terrorism, who was arrested in 2021 in a case, he said.
"Uikey
is currently on the run after these emails were traced back to him," the
senior police official said.
The
investigation, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Shweta Khedkar
uncovered detailed information linking Uikey to the emails.
Uikey sent
emails to various government bodies, including the Prime Minister's Office
(PMO), Railway Minister, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his
deputy, airline offices, the Director General of Police (DGP) and the Railway
Protection Force (RPF), the official said.
On Monday,
the Nagpur police stepped up security outside Deputy Chief Minister and Home
Minister Devendra Fadnavis's residence in the city after Uikey sent an email
threatening to protest unless given a chance to present his information on the
secret terror code he claimed to have deciphered. He also requested a meeting
with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss his knowledge of terror threats,
he added.
Uikey's email sent on 21 October to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, and also forwarded to the DGP and RPF, led to security measures at railway stations, the official said.
"A
special team has been formed to arrest Uikey," he said, adding that he
will be apprehended him soon.
In 13 days
till October 26, more than 300 flights operated by the Indian carriers received
hoax bomb threats. Most of the threats were issued through social media, the
government agencies earlier said.
On October
22 alone, around 50 flights, including 13 each of IndiGo and Air India received
bomb threats, sources earlier said.-PTI
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