Various airlines incurred a loss of over Rs 600 crore due to series of hoax bomb threats issued by accused Jadish Shriram Uikey (35) since January 2022, revealed the City Police officials, on Saturday. Commissioner of Police (CP) Dr Ravinder Singal, claimed that the actions of Uikey, a native of Arjuni Morgaon in Gondia district, were an attempt to garner publicity for his book titled ‘Aaatankwad - Ek Tufaani Rakshas’. The saga began in January 2022, when Uikey started penning a book focused on the theme of extremism. His ambition was to have Prime Minister Narendra Modi publish his work. However, frustration grew after he sent 354 emails to the Prime Minister’s Office without receiving a response. In an attempt to escalate the situation, Uikey began sending threatening emails to various airlines and government officials shortly before Diwali and warned of bomb threats from terrorist organisations such as Jaish-e-Mohammed and SFJ at 31 different locations, including airports and railways.

 

Uikey’s attempts resulted in panic among airline companies and led to the cancellation of numerous flights across the nation. The losses to the airlines were estimated to be over Rs 600 crore. Following the threats, a joint investigation was launched involving the Central Investigation Agencies and Nagpur Police, who managed to identify Uikey as the sender of threat emails. After evading arrest by travelling from Nagpur to Delhi and then to Haryana, Uikey was arrested at the Nagpur Railway Station on Thursday. He was taken into custody for further questioning. During interrogation, Uikey reiterated his claim that the threats were intended to promote his book. Upon learning of Uikey’s arrest, officials from the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Intelligence Bureau (IB), and the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrived in Nagpur to conduct thorough interrogations. Additionally, a team from the Delhi Police was dispatched to assist in the investigation, which revealed that Uikey’s actions were motivated primarily by a desire for publicity. Uikey has only completed the 11th grade. The police are exploring how he acquired the knowledge to execute such a plan and are examining his communication history to identify any accomplices.