Chennai woman behind hoax bomb threat emails across India arrested by RGIA police

A 30-year-old software professional from Chennai, earlier arrested by the Ahmedabad police for issuing hoax bomb threat emails to institutions across the country, was taken into custody by the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) police on Friday, 1 August.

The accused, identified as Rene Joshilda, was brought to Hyderabad on July 20 on a transit warrant in connection with two cases registered against her by the RGIA police earlier this year.

“She was earlier arrested by the Ahmedabad police and lodged in Sabarmati Central Jail. We secured a transit warrant to bring her to Hyderabad and investigate her role in the hoax bomb threat emails sent to RGIA,” RGIA Outpost Inspector J. Balaraju said.

Following her appearance in a local court, Joshilda was remanded to judicial custody and sent to Chanchalguda Central Jail, Telangana. Police custody was granted for three days —August 1, 2, and 4 for interrogation, the official added.

Joshilda is allegedly involved in at least 21 such cases reported in different parts of the country. Of these, she has confessed to 12. Previously employed as a senior consultant with Deloitte in Chennai, Joshilda is accused of sending threat emails to multiple schools in Gujarat, the Narendra Modi cricket stadium, and BJ Medical College.

In one email, she allegedly also claimed responsibility for the Air India Ahmedabad-London plane crash on 12 June, in which approximately 260 people were killed.

Investigations have revealed that the accused’s actions were driven by an obsession with her male colleague who declined her marriage proposal and married another woman. “She had consulted an astrologer, who allegedly advised her that if the man was implicated in a criminal case, his wife would leave him and he would eventually be with her,” Mr. Balaraju said.

After his marriage earlier this year, she allegedly began sending a series of bomb threat emails using Prabhakar’s identity, targeting schools, stadiums, and hospitals across at least 12 States.

The RGIA police confirmed that she would be questioned for one more day before being remanded to a Telangana prison, following which she is expected to be sent back to Sabarmati Jail.