The Cyber Crime Branch of Ahmedabad has apprehended a woman from Chennai accused of disseminating a series of bomb threats via email, targeting schools, hospitals, and major public venues in Gujarat and other parts of India. The accused, Rene Joshilda, was arrested from her home in Saligramam, Tamil Nadu, following an extensive digital investigation.
Authorities identified her as the sender of over 21 threat emails, traced through detailed technical surveillance and forensic examination of digital footprints.&nbsp;
Josilda, who has been employed since 2022 as a senior consultant with Deloitte USI in Chennai, allegedly used several VPNs, anonymised email services, and tools on the dark web to disguise her identity and origin.
The investigation began after Geneva Liberal School in Sarkhej received a disturbing email on June 3 at 10:58 am, sent from divijprabhakara0@gmail.com. The message contained the following statement: "Police is sleeping. They cannot do anything. They don't know how to investigate properly. Only if children die, police will become active. We are going to blast the bomb in your school to bring to police attention about the rapist who raped the girl in Lemon Tree Hotel in Hyderabad in 2023."
Prompted by the email, the school&rsquo;s representative, Vishnu Khakhdiya, lodged a formal police complaint. A case was registered at the Sarkhej police station under appropriate sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita.
Senior officials including Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Sharad Singhal, Deputy Commissioners Dr Lavina Sinha and Ajit Rajian, and Assistant Commissioner Hardik Makdiya supervised the investigation. The cyber cell analysed internet activity, communication channels, and spoofed data traffic, eventually identifying the suspect.
According to JCP Sharad Singhal, &ldquo;The accused had created several fictitious email addresses and online profiles, which she used to disseminate fear and to tarnish the image of a known individual. Her actions suggest a motive rooted in revenge and emotional manipulation.&rdquo;
Among the email addresses allegedly used were pakistanjkweb@gmail.com and ipakistanwar@gmail.com, through which several threatening messages were sent, including:
"Bomb successfully planted in Narendra Modi Stadium. Save the stadium if you can."
"India has 400 trained military and army involved in this mission for Operation Sindhoor."
"Police in India cannot do anything. We will keep giving you all the updates."
The accused is said to have operated independently, with knowledge of cyber technology and a background in electrical engineering. Police sources confirmed that the threats had been issued over the span of more than a year, with different fake accounts and varying targets across Ahmedabad.
Following the digital trail, a team from the Gujarat police travelled to Chennai and, with support from KK Nagar police, arrested Josilda at her Saligramam residence. Searches were carried out both at her house and her father&rsquo;s property in Kodambakkam. Her father was questioned and later released. Josilda has been transported to Gujarat for continued investigation.
Though the threats were eventually deemed hoaxes, the nature of the messages led to heightened security alerts and disrupted normal functioning at the targeted institutions. Investigators are now reviewing her electronic devices to gather further evidence and verify whether others were involved.
A total of 21 threatening messages, all from varied email IDs and sent to different recipients, have been documented. The accused remains in custody as the probe continues.
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Chennai tech consultant used fake emails and VPNs to send bomb threats to Gujarat institutions.

Ahmedabad Police Nab Woman for Bomb Threat Emails

Chennai tech consultant used fake emails and VPNs to send bomb threats to Gujarat institutions.

June 23, 2025 | 20:54 IST