22-yr-old held for sending threat emails to Delhi, Bengaluru police commissioners

A 22-year-old web developer in south Delhi’s Saket area has been arrested for allegedly sending terror-linked threat emails to the commissioners of police in Delhi and Bengaluru as part of an online vendetta against a man, an official said on Tuesday.

The accused, identified as Abhay Shee, allegedly targeted the victim, Mohit, after a personal dispute involving a woman known to both, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Harsh Indora said at a press conference.

To “teach him a lesson”, Shee allegedly created multiple fake email IDs resembling the victim’s identity, sent threat mails claiming affiliation with a banned organisation, and generated several fabricated cyber complaints in the victim’s name, the officer said.

On December 7, Delhi Police received an email on the CP’s official address from an account appearing to belong to Mohit, containing threats and a demand for money. The mail was also marked to another suspicious email ID.

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Police later found that on November 30, a similar threat warning of bomb attacks in Bengaluru had been sent to the Bengaluru Police Commissioner’s official email using another spoofed ID, Indora said.

Police traced the mobile number mentioned in the emails to Mohit, who told police he had been receiving persistent harassment since November 19, including spam calls, payment QR codes and multiple threatening mails created to mimic his identity. Based on his statement, investigators tracked down Shee in Saket.

During interrogation, Shee confessed to using VPNs, spoofing tools and fake email accounts to send the threatening messages, and to filing false cyber complaints alleging rape and murder in Mohit’s name, police said.

He had also sent a threat message to Ganga Nagar Police Control Room (PCR) in Rajasthan through a virtual international number, claiming links to a banned group and threatening car blasts, they said.

Police have recovered the mobile phone allegedly used to create the fake IDs and send the emails. Preliminary inspection suggested that significant data had been deleted, and efforts are underway to retrieve it, officials said.

Shee, a BCA student from Jamshedpur who works as a freelance web developer, has been booked under relevant sections and arrested. We are further looking into the matter, they added.