Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
A 30-year-old woman robotic engineer, formerly employed as a senior consultant in a reputed firm, has been arrested by the Bengaluru Cyber Crime Police for allegedly sending fake bomb threat emails to several schools in the city and other states, police said on Thursday, November 6.
The accused, identified as Rene Joshilda, originally from Gujarat, allegedly sent bomb threats to at least seven schools in Bengaluru, in addition to educational institutions in Chennai, Hyderabad, Gujarat, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Haryana — spanning 11 states.
Investigators said the woman used VPN services to hide her location and sent the emails using a virtual mobile number generated through an app called Gate Code. She reportedly operated six to seven WhatsApp accounts under different identities to execute the hoax.
Police said Joshilda was in love with a man named Prabhakar, but after he married another woman in February, she allegedly acted out of anger and revenge, sending the threatening emails using his name to implicate or embarrass him.
According to police, she sent at least 21 fake bomb threats in Gujarat and six in Bengaluru, triggering widespread panic and security alerts in multiple schools.
Allegedly, Joshilda had also claimed responsibility for a fabricated “Ahmedabad-to-London plane crash.” In one email, she falsely stated that a Boeing aircraft flying from Ahmedabad to London had exploded — a claim later confirmed to be entirely baseless.
Following that, she reportedly sent another email to a school saying: “I think you know the power — like we sent you an email yesterday. We crashed the Air India plane with our former CM Vijay Rupani... Now you know we are not playing.”
Investigators confirmed that she had sent all these emails herself using fake online identities.
After a spate of such threats in Bengaluru, Police Commissioner Semaant Kumar Singh formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by Joint Commissioner of Police (West) Vamshi Krishna and DCP (North) Nemagowda, with CEN ACP Pawan as the investigating officer.
Police added that Joshilda had previously been arrested by Chennai Police for similar offences, and a coordinated inter-state investigation is now underway.
The Karnataka Police secured her custody through a body warrant from Ahmedabad prison, where she had been lodged after her arrest by Gujarat Police in June for threatening to blow up 21 locations in and around Ahmedabad, including the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera.
Joshilda, who holds a BE in Electrical Engineering, lived in Chennai and had previously worked in a tech company in Bengaluru.
Authorities described the case as one of the most complex cyber hoaxes in recent times, given the accused’s technical expertise and the scale of panic her actions caused.