The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested a resident of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, on Friday for allegedly threatening to blow up the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport if he was not paid “$1 million in Bitcoin”, an official said.
The ATS started the investigation after Mumbai International Airport Limited, which operates the airport, received a threatening email in its feedback inbox at 11.06am on Thursday, the official said.
'Will blast Terminal 2 in 48 hours'
“This is a final warning to your airport. We will blast Terminal 2 in 48 hours unless one million US dollars in Bitcoin is transferred to the address. Another alert will be after 24 Hrs,” the email read.
A first information report was registered under Sections 385 (putting a person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion) and 505 (1) (b) (statements made with intent to cause fear or alarm to the public or against the public tranquility) of the Indian Penal Code at the Sahar Police Station.
ATS to hand over accused to Sahar police
The ATS cyber cell, which started a parallel investigation, traced the IP address from which the email had been sent to Kerala, following which a team flew to the southern state and arrest the accused.
He was being brought to Mumbai and would be handed over to Sahar police, the official said without disclosing the accused’s identity.
