The North Division Cyber Crime Police have cracked a series of hoax email cases reported in the city and arrested a 30-year-old software engineer, who allegedly misused her technical expertise to hack into her male friend’s email account and implicate him in false cases as an act of revenge.
The accused, identified as Rene Joshilda, a resident of Airport Road, Chennai in Tamil Nadu, was traced to the Ahmedabad prison, where she is currently lodged in connection with a similar offence.
According to B.S. Nemagoud, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (North Division), who supervised the investigation, Rene holds a B.E. in electrical engineering and previously worked at a Bengaluru-based private company. She had been found involved in seven cases in Bengaluru, one in Gujarat, and one in Tamil Nadu.
Investigations revealed that while working in Bengaluru, Rene had developed a relationship with a techie. Following their breakup, she allegedly decided to take revenge and frame him in a criminal case.
Using her technical skills, she created multiple virtual identities through VPN services and the Gatecode app, availed virtual mobile numbers, and operated from seven fake email accounts. She allegedly hacked into his email IDs and sent hoax emails to several schools across Bengaluru, causing alarm and prompting police action.
The police began their probe based on a complaint filed by a public school in Kalasipalya on June 14 after receiving one such threatening email. The investigation team traced the origin of the messages through digital forensics, leading them to the accused.
Rene was brought to Bengaluru on a body warrant for further questioning and investigation.
Published – November 06, 2025 09:31 pm IST
