MUMBAI— Mumbai Police have detained a guy from Noida, Uttar Pradesh, for reportedly sending a scary bomb threat message to the city’s official WhatsApp number for traffic police. The man, Ashwini Kumar, is 51 years old and an astrologer from Bihar. He was arrested on Saturday. The police have taken his phone and SIM card and are now taking him to Mumbai for more questioning.
The arrest comes after a security scare that made Mumbai quite nervous before the huge Ganesh Visarjan celebrations. The Mumbai Traffic Police got a threatening message from a group that calls itself “Lashkar-e-Jihadi” on Friday. The letter said that “34 human bombs” had been put in 34 cars all around the city and that 14 terrorists from Pakistan had come to India. The threat also said that 400 kg of RDX would be used in the explosions, which was scary.
The threat was especially scary because it occurred only one day before the last day of the 10-day Ganeshotsav holiday, when millions of people come to the city to take part in idol immersion processions. After the message, the Mumbai Police quickly stepped up security throughout the city by sending more officers and starting an inquiry to find out where the threat came from.
Authorities first looked into Ashwini Kumar, who has lived in Noida for the previous five years. Police are taking the threats very seriously, even if they think they might be a fake. The reason for the threats is still being looked into. The quick action of law enforcement officials made sure that the city’s safety wasn’t put at risk during one of its major yearly events.