Woman Techie, Jailed In Gujarat, Behind Bomb Hoaxes To Bengaluru Schools

In a major breakthrough in the growing menace of bomb hoaxes in the country, the Bengaluru Police have arrested a woman already serving time at the Ahmedabad Central Jail for sending multiple bomb threat emails to schools across the city.

The investigation began after a public school in Bengaluru received a bomb threat on the night of June 14. The school principal immediately lodged a police complaint. The police filed a case and began an investigation.

As similar fake bomb alerts surfaced across Bengaluru, the City Police Commissioner directed the North Division Cyber Crime unit to take over all related cases. The probe soon pointed towards an unlikely suspect—Rene Joshilda, a woman software engineer imprisoned in Gujarat.

Joshilda was brought to Bengaluru on a body warrant on October 28. During her interrogation, she confessed to sending bomb hoax emails not only to schools in the city but also to institutions in Mysuru, Chennai, and Gujarat.

The police said the woman, a tech-savvy software engineer, had used VPNs and virtual mobile numbers generated through the "Gate Code" app to create several WhatsApp accounts and mask her digital footprint while issuing the threats. The cops believe she operated multiple accounts to evade tracking and spread panic.

After detailed questioning, Joshilda was sent back to Ahmedabad Central Jail on October 31, where she continues to remain in custody.

Officials said the arrest exposed a pattern of coordinated hoax threats across multiple states, and further investigation is underway to determine whether others were involved in the nationwide bomb scare.