Thiruvananthapura |A 37-year-old engineer from Tamil Nadu has been arrested for allegedly sending fake bomb threat emails to government offices in Keralam, including several key institutions in the state capital, police said on Tuesday.
The accused, Sarath Subramanian, who had lived in the United States for several years, has 36 cases registered against him in Thiruvananthapuram alone. He has confessed to 34 of these crimes, according to the Cyber Cell of the Thiruvananthapuram City Police.
He is suspected to be behind a series of bomb threat emails sent to government institutions a few months ago, including the Secretariat, Lok Bhavan, court complexes and Cliff House, triggering security checks and causing concern among the authorities.
Police said the emails were sent through the dark web, making it difficult to trace their source.
During questioning, he told investigators that he sent the threatening emails out of revenge, claiming he was upset with a Tamil Nadu-based political party for "protecting upper castes" in the state, a police officer told PTI.
He had worked in the United States for 16 years, but not in the engineering profession, he said.
The threats had raised concerns about the possible involvement of extremist groups, but investigators had also suspected a Tamil Nadu connection.
He is suspected to have initially targeted government offices in Tamil Nadu before turning his attention to Keralam.
Further investigation is under way to establish the full extent of his activities and identify the motive behind the threats, police said.
