We crashed AI 171: Chennai techie creates hundreds of fake emails, uses 80 phone numbers across 11 states to trap colleague
A 30-year-old robotics engineer from Chennai has been arrested for sending hoax bomb threats across 11 states in an attempt to frame a former colleague who reportedly did not reciprocate her feelings. The accused, Rene Joshlida created multiple fake email IDs, used VPNs and dark webs to stay under the radar for months. As per a police investigation, Joshilda sent fake emails, targeting schools, hospitals, and stadiums in 21 different locations. The techie also sent an email claiming responsibility behind the recent Air India clash in Ahmedabad on June 12. Investigators across states were stumped until a single digital error helped trace the threats back to her.
A story of one-sided love
Rene Joshilda is an engineer trained in Robotics. She has been working as a senior consultant at Deloitte in Chennai since 2022. Joshilda met Divij Prabhakar during a project in Bengaluru and fell in love with him. However, the interest was not mutual. Divij did not reciprocate Rene’s feelings and got married to someone else in February this year. Enraged by the rejection, Rene allegedly devised an elaborate revenge plan. She created several fake email accounts using variations of Divij Prabhakar’s name and began sending bomb threats to schools, hospitals, and public venues in an attempt to frame him, police investigation said.“When they were working together, she used to create fake email accounts and harass any woman who showed any interest in her secret lover. In one case, she harassed a woman colleague suspecting her to be interested in the male colleague to the extent that she quit her job,” the police said.
Claimed responsibility for Air India plane crash
The unfortunate Air India plane crash on June 12 killed at least 274 people, including crew members, passengers and civilians on ground. Joshilda, as per police, claimed fake responsibility for the crash. She sent out a hoax email to BJ Medical College administration, saying “I think now you know power. Like we sent you mail yesterday, we crashed the Air India plane with our former CM (Vijay Rupani). We know the police would have thought that the plane crash was a hoax and ignored it. Well done to our pilot. Now you know we are not playing. Now you know.”
Threatened to blow 21 spots in Ahmedabad alone
Using her technical knowledge and expertise, Joshilda used fake email IDs and virtual private networks (VPNs) to send hoax bomb threats. According to Joint CP (Crime) Ahmedabad Sharad Singhal, in the emails – Joshilda threatened to blow up as many as 21 spots in and around Ahmedabad. These included the Narendra Modi stadium in Motera, the Geneva Liberal School in Sarkhej and a civil hospital, among others. Joshilda’s fake bomb threats did not confide to Gujarat alone. As per police, she sent threat emails to 11 states, including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Bihar, Telangana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana.
How was Rene Joshilda arrested
Police say that Joshilda bought at least 80 numbers through VPN in the past two years and sent hundreds of fake emails. “The number she would use to create email IDs would be virtual. She sent threat emails through Tor browser (a network for anonymous communication) and the Dark Web. She took a lot of precautions. She was very smart and never revealed her digital trail. But she made a small mistake and our cyber crime wing and crime branch tracked her down,” Singhal told the media.She managed to hide her identity and location using the dark web and VPNs, until one time she tipped off her location with a single error. As per an Ahmedabad Mirror report, Joshilda logged into her real and fake email accounts from the same device on one occasion. This helped police in tracing her IP address. “That one careless login gave her away,” a police officer said.
