Engineer sends 21 bomb threats to frame man she loved, arrested
Ahmedabad:(PTI) A probe into e-mails threatening blasts at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and different places in 12 states has unravelled a tale of unrequited love and vengeance allegedly unleashed by a woman executive of an MNC in Chennai to defame a man, leading to her arrest.
After the man who she dreamt would be her husband, married another woman, the accused, identified as Rene Joshilda, decided to avenge the 'rejection' and used deception to wreak havoc in his life.
According to police, she used fake email IDs, virtual private networks (VPNs), and the dark web to hide her identity and location.
She was arrested by the Ahmedabad cyber crime from her residence in Chennai on Saturday following an extended technical surveillance, which involved picking the digital trail, an official said on Monday.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sharad Singhal on Monday said Joshilda created different email IDs, some of which were in the name of Divij Prabhakar, who she wanted to marry.
An engineer trained in Robotics, Joshilda has been working as a senior consultant at a multinational firm in Chennai since 2022.
"She has done her engineering from Chennai and a course in Robotics. Currently, she is a senior consultant at Deloitte. She loved Divij Prabhakar and wanted to marry him but it remained one-sided," Singhal told reporters.
Her dreams crashed when Prabhakar married another girl in February, filling her with revulsion and revenge.
"In a bid to frame him, she created different email IDs, some of which were in the name of Prabhakar," the police officer added.
Blinded by love, Joshilda used her technical knowledge to spread panic, blissfully unaware of the impact of her action on innocent people who became unintentional targets due to hoax emails.
The police officer said Joshilda sent emails from anonymous accounts threatening to blow up the Narendra Modi Stadium, BJ Medical College, and at least two schools in Ahmedabad.
"She allegedly sent emails to various locations in 11 other states also (besides Gujarat) timing them ahead of some religious processions or visits by VIPs," he said.
Police from various states coordinated with the cyber crime police of Ahmedabad.
"The accused used virtual numbers to create fake email IDs and used the dark web," Singhal added.
Explaining the virtual cat-and-mouse game, the police officer said Joshilda played her moves smartly and covered her virtual trail.
However, a small mistake on her part led investigators to her.
"We were tracking her for a long time. She was very smart and didn't reveal her virtual trail, but due to a small mistake of hers, we tracked her and caught her from her house in Chennai," Singhal said.
He said police recovered significant digital and paper evidence against Joshilda.
"We can say that we have busted a big module," the police officer exclaimed.
The investigation stemmed from an FIR registered at Sarkhej police station in Ahmedabad after a threat mail was received by a school on June 3, 2025.
In the mail, the sender stated she was "going to blast the bomb in your school to bring police attention about the rapist who raped the girl in Lemon Tree Hotel in Hyderabad in 2023 (sic)".
The accused sent 13 threat emails to Narendra Modi Stadium, four to Geneva Liberal School, three to Divya Jyoti School and one to BJ Medical College, police said.
Apart from this, emails threatening bomb blasts were also sent to target locations in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Bihar, Telangana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana, police said.
"Bomb successfully planted in Narendra Modi Stadium. Save the stadium if you can," reads one such mail.
Another mail sent to BJ Medical College after the Air India crash stated: "I think now you know power. Like we sent you mail yesterday we crashed the Air India plane with our former CM. We know the police would have thought that the plane crash was a hoax and ignored it. Well done to our pilot. Now you know we are not playing. Now you know".
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Nightclub fire: Goa court remands Luthra brothers in police custody for five days
Panaji (PTI): A court in North Goa on Wednesday remanded Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, co-owners of the ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub, in police custody for five days.
The brothers, brought to Goa from Delhi after being deported from Thailand in connection with the December 6 blaze that killed 25, were produced in the court after undergoing health check-ups twice at the District Hospital in North Goa.
Judicial Magistrate First Class Mapusa Puja Sardesai remanded the two brothers in police custody for five days.
Advocate Vishnu Joshi, representing Bhavana Joshi who lost four family members in the tragedy, said that the accused were asking for “special consideration” claiming poor health.
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“We said they should not be given any extra relaxation,” he said, adding that the court has taken cognisance of the fact that this is about the death of “25 people in the form of mass genocide”.
“But since they kept pressing for medical check-up, the court ordered reexamination of their health. It is clear in the medical examination that they don’t require any consideration. The accused sought special considerations in the lock-up like a good mattress, which the court refused,” said Joshi.
A team of the Goa Police, along with the Luthra brothers, arrived at the Manohar International Airport, Mopa, in North Goa at 10.45 am.
The duo was initially taken to a Primary Health Centre at Siolim for medical examination. They were then taken to the District Hospital at Mapusa.
After their health assessment, the two were brought to the court.
The court directed that the accused be sent for fresh medical examination. Accordingly, the two were again taken to the District Hospital.
Later, they were produced before Judge Sardesai, who ordered the five-day police custody of the accused.
After the fire tragedy at Arpora village, the Anjuna police had registered a case against the Luthra brothers on various charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The brothers were arrested in Delhi on Tuesday after being deported from Thailand. A court there allowed the Goa Police their two-day transit remand.
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The duo had fled to Phuket in Thailand early on December 7, hours after the fire at their nightclub, prompting the authorities to issue an Interpol Blue Corner Notice and cancel their passports.
They were detained by Thai authorities at Phuket on December 11 following a request from the Indian government, which later coordinated with officials in Thailand to deport them under legal treaties between the two nations.
Five managers and staff members have already been arrested by the Goa Police in connection with the fire.
