A shocking revelation has come to light in the case of a bomb threat that rattled Mumbai during Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. The accused, identified as Ashwini Kumar, a resident of Noida originally from Patna, had sent a threatening message to Mumbai Police warning of serial blasts in the city. Investigations have revealed that Kumar’s motive was personal revenge against a former friend, Firoz Ahmed, who had earlier filed a cheating case against him in Bihar. This case had landed Kumar in jail for four months in 2023, causing him humiliation and building resentment that ultimately triggered the plan.
According to reports, Kumar had been operating an astrology business in Noida after shifting there five years ago. Despite settling into a new profession, he allegedly harbored a strong grudge against Ahmed for putting him behind bars. Seeking revenge, Kumar devised a plan to frame his former friend by sending a hoax terror threat in Ahmed’s name. On Thursday, he sent a WhatsApp message to Mumbai Traffic Police claiming that 34 bombs were planted across the city and 14 Pakistani terrorists had entered. He even used the name ‘Lashkar-e-Jihadi’ to make the message appear like an international terror plot.
The threatening message immediately set alarm bells ringing, as Mumbai was in the middle of grand Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations with large crowds across the city. Authorities wasted no time in placing the city under high alert, mobilizing the Anti-Terrorism Squad and crime branch to trace the origin of the message. The number used by Kumar was found to be recently purchased, and he had deliberately set Ahmed’s photo as the WhatsApp display picture to mislead investigators. However, swift coordination between Mumbai and Noida police ensured that the investigation quickly closed in on the suspect.
On Friday night, a special team of Mumbai Police, with the assistance of Noida Police, raided Ashwini Kumar’s residence at Civitech Stadia in Sector 79, Noida. During the raid, officials recovered seven mobile phones, three SIM cards, an external SIM slot device, six memory cards, and multiple SIM holders. These were allegedly used by Kumar to mask his identity while executing the threat. Police later confirmed that Kumar had no links to any terror group. His only intention, officers said, was to falsely implicate Firoz Ahmed. “He wanted his friend jailed,” a senior officer was quoted as saying in the investigation report.