New Delhi: The Class 12 student apprehended by Delhi Police in connection to the hoax bomb threats issued to several schools in Delhi on 8 January is suspected to have sent over 400 such threat emails over the past year, the police have revealed.
In the press conference, Special Commissioner of Police for Law & Order Madhup Tewari said that an investigation revealed that the minor has been sending the threat emails to schools since February last year and is suspected of having sent them to 250 schools last May.
“So far, based on technical evidence and the probe, it has been found that the student is very tech-savvy. We are probing if he was doing it alone—which we don’t think is the case,” the special CP said.
The police have also gathered information on his family.
“His parents have been found associated with an NGO, with links to a political party. In the past, this NGO questioned the legitimacy of Afzal Guru’s hanging. Further probe is on,” Madhup Tewari said.
“During further probe, the background check of the juvenile’s guardian was carried out. It is revealed that one NGO has a significant influence at the workplace of the juvenile’s guardian. This NGO has a longstanding association and deep connection with a political party. This NGO is known for advocacy for the political party in open public domain. The influence of this NGO and its proximity to a political party raises critical questions about a possible larger conspiracy to create public unrest through disruptive tactics,” Delhi Police said in a statement.
According to Delhi Police, a technical investigation has revealed that the minor sent the threat emails in February and 1 May 2023.
Officers said that the minor used a free virtual private network (VPN) to access a Tor web browser to send the emails. Delhi police sources said expiration of free VPN access led them to the original IP address. “After the free VPN cracked, the original IP address was revealed which helped us trace the minor,” said one source.
Amid speculations that the student used to issue the emails to get exams in his school cancelled, investigators said his motive isn’t clear.
“So far, the motive isn’t clear. His school did not have exams on all the days when he sent the emails,” Tewari said.
Officers said the VPN’s use initially made it difficult to identify the suspect.
“We had written to the mail service providers, as well. But, the data they provided was not helpful. The probe kicked off after the latest threats on 8 January,” a senior officer said.
However, the police saw a pattern in the threats that helped them zero in on the suspect.
“The pattern of the emails remained the same, and mostly, the emails were sent to South Delhi schools,” a second source in the police force said.
ThePrint earlier reported that the minor, according to police, was discussing the threats on dark web chat rooms.
This is an updated version of the report
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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