Gandhinagar Threat Email Network Busted in Jharkhand and Bihar, 5.13 Lakh IDs Recovered

GANDHINAGAR :  A threatening email sent on September 10 claiming that the Gujarat Secretariat, Chief Minister’s Office and other government buildings in Gandhinagar would be blown up has led investigators to an alleged nationwide digital network involving more than five lakh email IDs and suspected links to Bangladesh.

The Gujarat Cyber Cell arrested Roshan Kumar from Bhagalpur, Bihar, and Gulshan Kumar Singh from Deoghar, Jharkhand, after a technical investigation traced the email trail.

Cyber Cell of Excellence SP Vivek Bheda said investigators recovered a list containing 5,13,847 unique email IDs and passwords from the accused.

“Gulshan had created more than five lakh unique Gmail IDs and passwords. He also generated authenticator and seed codes, which were subsequently sold and used for sending threatening emails,” Bheda said.

Investigators found that the email ID used in the September 10 threat was among the credentials recovered from Gulshan. Police suspect Gulshan generated and supplied the credentials, while Roshan allegedly used the ID to send the threat email from Bihar.

Police are also probing Gulshan’s alleged contacts with individuals in Bangladesh. Preliminary findings indicate that email credentials were allegedly supplied there and that Gulshan may have received payments in USDT cryptocurrency.

Two crypto wallets were recovered, with preliminary analysis indicating transactions worth crores of rupees. Investigators are examining the wallets and bank accounts to establish whether the transactions were linked to the alleged network.

The probe has also revealed that Gulshan was allegedly involved in the activity since 2022. Police found that more than 14,000 email IDs were created in just two days, while the overall number exceeded five lakh.

Authorities will now examine threat emails received across Gujarat and other parts of India to determine whether the recovered IDs were used previously. The information may also be shared with other law-enforcement agencies.

Roshan, who has completed Class 12 and works in a technical ITI role, allegedly possessed technical knowledge, while Gulshan holds a B.Sc. degree and has worked in email development, digital marketing and social media management.

Both accused are being questioned. Police are investigating possible additional members and the Bangladesh connection, with Bihar and Jharkhand police assisting the probe and coordination with i4C planned as required.