Noida/Mumbai: The man suspected of having threatened to carry out multiple blasts in Mumbai during Ganesh Chaturthi has been arrested in Noida. It is being alleged that he sent a message to the Mumbai Police, warning of dozens of blasts to “kill one crore people” in the city.
The man has been identified as Ashwini. The motive behind such a threat is still not known.
Ganesh Chaturthi is the biggest festival in Mumbai and security is a challenge when lakhs of people are out on the streets to celebrate. Over 21,000 police personnel have been deployed in Mumbai for Anant Chaturdashi on Saturday, when the Ganesh idols will be immersed.
Hence, the authorities do not take such threats lightly. The message was sent to the traffic police’s WhatsApp helpline on Thursday claiming 14 Pakistani terrorists had entered the city with 400 kilograms of RDX that was planted in 34 vehicles.
Ashwini was arrested after the Mumbai Police tracked the message and contacted Noida Police Commissioner Laxmi Singh for assistance. The Noida police formed a special team to hunt him down.
According to the Mumbai Police, the sender of the message mentioned the name of an organisation ‘Lashkar-e-Jihadi’ in the threat message.
“Traffic police have received such bomb threat messages in the past. There is no need to panic. Security has been beefed up at key locations, and combing operations are underway. Mumbaikars are urged not to believe in rumours and report any suspicious activity,” an officer had said on Friday.
The Anti-Terrorism Squad was also informed about the threat message.
A case was registered at Worli police station against an unidentified person under Section 351 (criminal intimidation) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and sub-sections 2, 3 and 4.
