Ex-professor held in Nashik for issuing bomb threat to extort Rs 21 lakh from Delhi coaching institute

NEW DELHI: A 31-year-old former professor of Applied Mathematics has been arrested from Nashik for allegedly issuing a bomb threat to extort Rs 21 lakh from a coaching institute in northwest Delhi’s Wazirpur Industrial Area. The accused, identified as Bachchu Jha, is also suspected to be involved in similar extortion attempts targeting a former MLA in Chhattisgarh and a lawyer in Bihar.Police said the institute’s manager received a call at 11.42am on April 2 from a person claiming to be “Babla Gurjar from Noida”, who warned of a bomb blast if the money was not paid. An FIR was registered at Ashok Vihar police station and an investigation was launched. DCP (north west) Akanksha Yadav said, “A police team analysed call detail records, subscriber information and digital footprints and the trail led them to Nashik in Maharashtra. The team covered nearly 2,800 kilometres in under 18 hours, eventually tracking down and arresting the accused.”“During interrogation, it was found that Jha had earlier worked as a professor of Applied Mathematics in medical colleges in Haryana and Bihar. He used his analytical skills to plan extortion calls, adopting fake identities and leveraging fear to extract money,” DCP Yadav added.A police officer said, “We are analysing his conversations and identifying more such institutions or people he has targeted.”A mobile phone used to make the extortion call has been seized.