Man Arrested in Noida Over Mumbai Terror Threat of ‘34 Human Bombs’

Police in Noida have arrested a 51-year-old astrologer from Bihar for allegedly sending bomb threat messages to Mumbai Traffic Police, claiming that “human bombs” and 400 kg of RDX had been planted across the city.

The accused, Ashwini Kumar, originally from Patliputra, had been living in Noida for five years. Investigators say he fabricated the terror threats to frame his friend Firoz, with whom he had a long-running dispute. Kumar had earlier spent three months in jail in a case filed by Firoz in Patna.

The threatening WhatsApp message, sent under the name of a group calling itself Lashkar-e-Jihadi, claimed 14 Pakistani terrorists had entered India and warned of multiple blasts. The message was received just a day before Ganesh Visarjan celebrations in Mumbai, putting the city on high alert.

Police seized Kumar’s phone, SIM cards, and several digital storage devices. He is being brought to Mumbai for further investigation.