Gujarat: Cyberterrorism case filed after bomb threat email sent to Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: Three days after a bomb threat email warning of cyanide-filled RDX IED blasts at passport offices created panic at the Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Ahmedabad, Cybercrime police on Monday filed a complaint in the case.Haresh Malani, an assistant passport officer posted at the Regional Passport Office near the LD College of Engineering, filed a complaint on behalf of the department. According to the FIR, an email was received at 10.20am on Feb 27 from an unidentified email ID. The subject line of the email claimed that "cyanide-filled RDX IEDs procured from Pakistan" were planted in all passport office premises in the city and warned that the buildings would be "blasted soon". The sender instructed authorities to evacuate all staff by 12.15pm.
The email further claimed responsibility in the name of a person allegedly linked to a Maoist-Naxalite affiliate group and referred to a pending Pocso case in Chennai courts. It suggested that the blasts would serve as a "statement" against alleged misuse of power and demanded that the case be shifted out of Tamil Nadu. Officials said the email was immediately taken seriously and was internally forwarded to other passport offices in the city as a precautionary measure. Standard security protocols were activated, and the matter was reported to senior authorities. "A formal complaint was lodged with Cybercrime police to trace the origin of the email and identify the sender. We are examining technical details, including IP logs and server information," a police officer said. Preliminary investigation suggests that the email ID used to send the threat appears suspicious and may have been created using foreign servers. Cybercrime officials are coordinating with central agencies and email service providers to gather digital evidence. No suspicious object was found during security checks at the passport office premises, police said, adding that the threat currently appears to be a hoax. A case was registered under relevant sections pertaining to criminal intimidation and cyberterrorism. Further investigation is underway to identify the accused and determine the motive behind sending the threat email.