A woman was arrested by the police at Anakapalle in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam district on Wednesday after she allegedly sent messages to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and some senior police officers that a bomb was planted in a bank and EVM strong rooms across the state. The police said that the woman was angered about the alleged delay in releasing money related to government schemes by a bank.
The woman was identified as 40-year-old R Sriranjani, a community activist in Velugu, a poverty alleviation programme by the state government.
According to media reports, besides the manager of the Grameena Vikas Bank, Kiran Kumar, who later filed a complaint with the police, Sriranjani also sent a message to YSRCP President Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and Superintendent of Police, Guntur (Urban).
The woman reportedly told the police said Kiran withheld certain funds in her account, citing pending loans which had to be cleared. Following this, investigation officials said that the accused purchased a mobile phone with a fake name and identity and stole a SIM card from a friend. She then collected the numbers of the senior officials and sent them the messages.
“We registered a case under 67 (C), 67 (D) and 67 (F) of the Information Technology Act along with Sections 380 (Theft), 420 (Cheating) and 467 (Forgery). She messaged Chief Minister and ministers along with some of the police officers in the state,” Anakapalle DSP S V V Prasad Rao was quoted as saying
“In her messages, the woman also said that bombs were planted in the strongrooms where ballot boxes and EVMs were kept. She also sent a few messages that a State-wide bandh would be called for,” the DSP added.
While the case was registered on Tuesday, the accused was detained by the police on Wednesday. She is expected to be produced in front of a local magistrate on Thursday.