A man from West Bengal held for hoax bomb threat emails

The Ahmedabad city crime branch and cyber crime cell have arrested a West Bengal man for allegedly sending a series of hoax bomb threat emails to schools and courts across Gujarat , police said on Tuesday.

The accused, Sourav Biswas , was nabbed in a joint operation and brought to Gujarat, where he is currently in police remand. Police said he used a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to mask his internet protocol (IP) address and conceal his identity while sending the emails.

Investigators said hoax bomb threats sent through anonymous email services and VPNs are emerging as a growing challenge for security agencies, highlighting the need for stronger digital surveillance, improved cyber forensic capabilities and better coordination among cybercrime units.

In recent months, several institutions in Gujarat received such threats. On February 16, 34 schools in Ahmedabad and Vadodara received bomb threat emails, prompting evacuations before the alerts were declared hoaxes. On February 17, six courts in Gujarat received similar threats. Earlier, around 12 schools in Ahmedabad received such emails on January 22, while 10 private schools were targeted on December 25.

Police are interrogating the accused to determine his motive, possible accomplices and the technical methods used. Authorities said issuing fake bomb threats is a serious offence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act , punishable with imprisonment and fines.