‘Show you one more trailer’: CM, DyCM receive threat mails to blow up public places in Karnataka, demands $2.5 mn

Bengaluru: A few days after a bomb blast at Rameshwaram Cafe, emails were sent to a top police official and ministers, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar, threatning to blow up more places in Karnataka targeting VVIPs and crowded areas.

This was confirmed by Police Commissioner B Dayananda on Monday. Threat mail also was received by Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara. The cyber police have already swung into action and are investigating.

The emails have been allegedly sent by a person named Shahid Khan from an email ID Shahidkhan10786@protonmail.com, and has demanded a sum of 2.5 million dollars to prevent further blasts.

The police have written to Proton company to furnish them with the details of the email ID, Dayananda said. "Once we get the required details, we will make further progress in the investigation," he said.

"A threat was received by email on Monday, an investigation has started in this regard," the top police official added.

The mail, having 'Explosion Alert 02' slug, reads: "Alert 01) What are your thoughts on the movie trailer? If you don’t provide us with 2.5 million dollars, we will cause large explosions on buses, trains, taxis, temples, hotels, and public areas throughout Karnataka.'

"Alert 02) We want to show you one more trailer. We are going to explode the next one in the Ambari Utsav bus. After the Ambari Utsav blast, we will raise our demands on social media. And will upload screenshots of the mail sent to you on social media. We will tweet information about the next explosion," the mail said.

The accused sent another email via 'shahidkhan11786@protonmail.com' ID. The police suspect that the email IDs are proxy which conceals the identity of the sender.

Shivakumar said his office received the email on Saturday and he sent it to the city police commissioner the same day. The cybercrime police have registered a case and are probing the matter, according to officials.

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Security measures have been jacked up and the city has been put on high alert for the next few days, the police said.

Proton is a Switzerland-based software company. On March 1, a low-intensity bomb went off at the Rameshwaram Cafe, injuring ten people. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the probe into the blast.