The Nagpur Police took Jagdish Uikey, 35, into custody on charges of sending 354 hoax emails targeting the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), flights, and trains across India, as reported by the Times of India.
Nagpur DCP for cybercrime Lohit Matani said on Saturday that Uikey, who is a resident of Gondia district in Maharashtra, had sent emails to PMO and other officials around 100 times since January, seeking endorsement for his book on terrorism, ‘Atankwad-Ek Tufaani Rakshash (Terrorism: A Demonic Storm).’
“Prima facie, he seemed to be pursuing PMO and others to get his book published with repeated emails, but later he switched to sending hoax mail in frustration,” police commissioner Ravinder Singal told the TOI.
According to Nagpur’s additional CP Sanjay Patil, Uikey’s book seems like a rudimentary compilation of terrorist theories widely available on the internet. This is, however, not his first brush with law enforcement. According to Singal, Uikey had been interrogated twice earlier for sending inappropriate emails and filing a complaint claiming connections between job aspirants and PMO.
“Once he was interrogated for sending objectionable emails, and on another occasion, he was questioned over his complaint of job aspirants being close to PMO. The crime branch thoroughly probed, but no offence was registered,” Singal told The Times of India.
As far as the recently sent emails are concerned, the suspect allegedly issued warnings of sleeper cell activity within India. He quite often aligns his threats closely with similar threats circulating from US sources. Police have said that they are looking into the possibility that the suspect may have borrowed language from these US sources, as per the TOI report. Investigations are underway into Uikey’s patterns of digital activity and communication.
Police are examining his devices and any cybercafé terminals he may have used to send the emails. Speaking to TOI, Singhal said, “We are scanning his call details records and laptops. His bank accounts and monetary trails are also being checked,” Singal said.
Authorities have flagged 354 emails in the sent folder of Uikey’s Gmail account’s. Reportedly, police have found a distinct pattern in his email activity. It also includes an email sent to Maharashtra deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis in October. In the mail, he falsely claimed knowledge of a “secret terror code.”
The special cell of the Delhi Police has joined the ongoing investigation. The officers are on site in Nagpur to question Uikey. On Thursday, a Nagpur police special branch team led by DCP Shweta Khedkar rounded up Uikey at Nagpur railway station. He is currently in police custody, with officials likely to extend his remand. In a bid to gather more insights into his activities and likely motive, the police plan to carry out psychological evaluations on Uikey.
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