Overview
- City police said three Bengaluru consulates — Japan, the Netherlands and Italy — received emailed bomb threats last week, with Japan at 5:32 a.m. on January 29 and Italy at 5:25 a.m. on January 30.
- The Japanese and Italian messages came from the same address, gaina_ramesh@outlook.com, warning of explosions and ordering evacuations, while the Netherlands email threatened an attack using “5 RDX and an IED.”
- Anti-sabotage checks at all three missions found no explosives and the threats were declared hoaxes.
- Separate cases were registered at Vidhana Soudha, Ulsoor and R T Nagar police stations, with the Vidhana Soudha complaint upgraded to an FIR after court approval under BNS sections 351(4) and 353(1)(b).
- Two FIRs were transferred to the CEN North police to trace the origin and IP of the emails, and security around the consulates was strengthened as the investigation continues.