The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) apprehended two individuals on Wednesday in connection with a bomb threat targeting Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the upcoming inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The threat also extended to STF Additional Director-General of Police (ADG) Amitabh Yash and a person named Devendra Tiwari.
According to reports, the arrested individuals, identified as Tahar Singh and Om Prakash Mishra from Gond, posted the threats in November on 'X' using the handle '@iDevendraOffice'. The police traced the threat posts back to email IDs 'alamansarikhan608@gmail.com' and 'zubairkhanisi199@gmail.com'. Technical analysis led to the arrest of Singh and Mishra, who used a Vivo T-2 mobile phone and a Samsung Galaxy A-3 to create the threatening email IDs and send the messages.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Zubair Khan, claiming to be associated with Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI, orchestrated the emails. A search operation supervised by STF Deputy Superintendent of Police Pramesh Kumar Shukla was initiated. The accused disclosed during interrogation that they acted under the instructions of Devendra Tiwari, who operated NGOs named Bharatiya Kisan Manch and Bharatiya Gau Seva Parishad.
Tahar Singh, responsible for handling social media, and Om Prakash Mishra, working as a personal secretary and pursuing a diploma in optometry, were employed at Tiwari's college, the Indian Institute of Paramedical Sciences. Tiwari allegedly instructed them to create fake email IDs and send threatening messages, which were then publicized through his 'X' account to gain media attention and political leverage, according to the police.
The accused admitted that after sending the emails, they followed Tiwari's orders to destroy the mobile phones used, and the office Wi-Fi was utilized for internet access during the act.