Chennai woman sends 21 hoax bomb threats to frame colleague she was obsessed with

CHENNAI: In a shocking case of 'love'-driven revenge, a 31-year-old senior consultant at a popular IT firm in Chennai was arrested by the Ahmedabad cybercrime unit for allegedly sending hoax bomb threat emails to several high-profile locations across the country.

The accused, Rene Joshilda, an engineering graduate with a background in robotics, reportedly sought vengeance after the man she loved married someone else earlier this year.

According to Ahmedabad police, Joshilda had a one-sided affection for a colleague named Divij Prabhakar.

The woman, who was allegedly obsessed with him, reportedly resorted to threatening other women in the office if they interacted with Prabhakar.

Reports also suggest that she allegedly created a fake marriage certificate bearing her and Prabhakar’s names and circulated it in the office using a fake ID.

However, all hell broke loose when Divij Prabhakar married another woman in February 2025.

Unable to cope with the rejection, the accused allegedly went to elaborate lengths and hatched a plan to frame Prabhakar by sending fake bomb threats using email accounts created in his name.

Speaking to the media, Joint Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad Crime Branch, Sharad Singhal, said that Joshilda sent at least 21 threat emails to high-profile locations including Narendra Modi Stadium, Geneva School, Divya Jyot School, Civil Hospital, and multiple other schools and medical colleges.

In a shocking revelation, investigations also found that in one of the emails, she claimed responsibility for an Air India plane crash that claimed more than 200 lives earlier this month.

The senior police official said, “She used VPNs, virtual mobile numbers, and the dark web to carefully conceal her identity. However, a small technical slip led us to her."

Investigations revealed that the emails were mostly timed before religious events or VIP visits and contained alarming messages such as: “Bomb successfully planted in Narendra Modi Stadium. Save the stadium if you can.”

Several similar emails were sent with threats to bomb hospitals and schools.

The case came to light earlier this month when a school in Gujarat received one of the threatening emails, prompting an FIR at the Sarkhej Police Station.

Following this, the cybercrime unit formed special teams across 11 states and collaborated to track the digital trail.

Police noted that Joshilda managed to carefully hide her identity by purchasing more than 80 new numbers through VPN services before sending multiple threats.

Despite Joshilda’s technical expertise using fake IDs, VPNs, and the dark web, cops said that a minor mistake allowed investigators to trace her to Chennai. Following this, police raided her residence on Saturday and seized digital and paper evidence linking her to the threats.

Officer Sharad Singhal said that while Joshilda seems to have acted alone, they are also investigating to see if any others were involved. “We have busted a big module,” he said, and noted that it was essential for various states to collaborate and coordinate efficiently to solve the case.