Nagpur man arrested for issuing 30 fake bomb threats to airlines, ministers

A 35-year-old man has been arrested by Maharashtra police from Nagpur for allegedly sending 30 bomb threat emails to several airlines and airports across the country as well as some ministers.
The accused, identified as Shriram Uikey, sent the bomb threats between October 25 and 30. He was arrested by the police on Thursday, October 31.
Uikey has also sent threatening emails to Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and others.
In the last two weeks, over 500 domestic and international flights have received bomb threats, causing major operational and financial distress for the airlines. The threats were later declared “hoax” by the security agencies.
Most of the threats were issued through social media.
Based on its investigation, the police further added that on October 21, Uikey also sent threatening emails to senior government ministers and officials, including Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Director-General of Railway Protection Force (DGRPF) among others.
Uikey had demanded to meet with Fadnavis, claiming he would provide details related to the explosions upon their meeting, police said.
In his threat emails, Uikey had said that terrorist groups had targeted six airports, and 31 flights of several airlines would be hijacked.
Speaking on the issue, Nagpur’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Lohit Matani said that Uike was taken into custody late Thursday night from Nagpur city, and the investigation is ongoing.
Earlier, the Kerala Police also arrested a man for allegedly issuing a fake bomb threat to an Abu Dhabi-bound Air Arabia flight from Karipur International Airport in this district.
The accused was identified as Mohammed Ijas (26) from the state’s Palakkad district, was arrested under relevant sections of the Civil Aviation Act, Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) and the Kerala Police Act and was sent to jail after the court granted his custody.