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In the 13 days leading up to October 26, more than 300 flights operated by Indian carriers received hoax bomb threats. On October 22 alone, around 50 flights, including 13 each from IndiGo and Air India, received such messages.
As per a report by The Times Of India, a 35-year-old man named Jagdish Uikey from Maharashtra's Gondia district was taken into custody by Nagpur police following the series of hoax bomb threats sent.
The report stated that Uikey sent a total of 354 hoax emails to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), government officials, flights, and railways.
Since January, he has sent almost 100 emails to the PMO requesting to promote his book titled, Aaatankwad - Ek Tufaani Rakshas, which talks about terrorism.
Officials told TOI that Uikey had sent multiple emails to the PMO and other officials to get his book published. Not receiving a reply made him frustrated, after which he started sending hoax threat mails.
Uikey's book is said to have terrorist theories in it, which is available on the internet, as per the publication.
In 2021, he allegedly made a phone call reporting a hoax bomb threat and was later arrested. After being released, he moved out of Arjuni Morgaon and told close friends that he had moved to Delhi, according to the officials.
TOI quoted an official saying that Uikey had one sent 'objectionable emails' and "was questioned over his complaint of job aspirants close to PMO."
As the investigation is under way, the report said that the recent emails sent by Uikey have revealed activity of sleeper cells in India, which police say seem like threats circulating from US sources.
The officials are closely looking into his communication pattern and believe that he may have adapted the pattern from US sources.
The police have noticed a pattern in his emails, the recent one being the emails sent to Deputy CM of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis in October. In the email, he claimed awareness about a "secret terror code", TOI reported.
The investigators, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police Shweta Khedkar, zeroed in on him based on the emails he had sent to various establishments.
(With PTI inputs)