AHMEDABAD: Preliminary probe into two recent cases of hoax bomb threats to various locations in Ahmedabad including Narendra Modi Stadium has indicated that the email accounts used by the senders were operated from Bangladesh and Pakistan, officials said.
The probe also brought to light a possible network facilitating the sale of hacked email accounts, said a release issued by the Cyber Crime Branch on Wednesday.
An earlier investigation into similar threats revealed that an accused arrested from West Bengal by Gujarat police had sold hacked Gmail accounts to a person in Bangladesh, who sold them to someone in Pakistan in exchange for cryptocurrency, it said.
The first case was registered on October 7 when emails threatening bomb blasts were sent from two email IDs to 16 locations, including 10 schools, Gujarat High Court, other courts in Ahmedabad and the Narendra Modi Stadium.
They also carried references to Khalistan and threatened explosions at singer Diljit Dosanjh's shows scheduled for November 1 in Delhi and November 21 at the Modi Stadium.
Preliminary findings indicated that the email accounts were operated from Bangladesh and Rawalpindi in Pakistan. Old email accounts had allegedly been procured and used to send the threatening messages.
The second case was registered on October 27 after a threatening email was sent from another email account, targeting 19 locations including 14 schools, government offices, courts and the Modi Stadium.
The message again referred to Khalistan and threatened blasts in Ahmedabad, warning people against attending Dosanjh's November 21 show.
Examination of email 'headers' and information obtained from Gmail indicated that this account had been operated from Rangpur in Bangladesh and Lahore in Pakistan.
The Cyber Crime Branch is probing the two cases in coordination with central agencies, the release said.
Earlier, a man had been arrested from West Bengal after similar bomb threats were issued in the name of a Khalistani organisation.
Police had found that the accused had sold hacked Gmail accounts to a person based in Bangladesh, and the latter had sold them to someone in Pakistan and received payment in cryptocurrency.
The Pakistan-based individuals were sending threatening emails ahead of festivals and other important events to create fear, the probe had found.