Noida astrologer arrested for hoax Mumbai bomb threat
Police said the 51-year-old astrologer sent the message to frame a friend, falsely claiming "human bombs" were planted across the city
Mumbai Police have arrested a 51-year-old man from Noida for allegedly sending a WhatsApp bomb threat, claiming the city would be blown up with multiple explosives and falsely stating that 34 “human bombs” had been planted across Mumbai.
According to police, the accused intended to frame a friend as an act of revenge over an old dispute.
Also Read: Mumbai on high alert after ‘34 human bombs’ threat amid Ganesh festival celebrations
Astrologer arrested
The man has been identified as Ashwini Kumar, an astrologer and vastu consultant originally from Patliputra in Patna, Bihar.
For the past five years, he has been living in Noida’s Sector 79 with his parents. His father, Suresh Kumar, is a retired education department official, and his mother, Prabhawati, is a homemaker.
Cyber-tracking quickly led the police to him, and he was arrested. Police seized the phone and SIM card used in the threat and are bringing him to Mumbai for further questioning.
Ashwini Kumar, a postgraduate, has been estranged from his wife, Archana, and has a history of financial disputes.
Revenge against friend
Police said the motive behind the act was rooted in a personal feud. In 2023, he was jailed for three months after being arrested in a case filed by his friend Firoz in Phulwari Sharif, Patna.
Investigators said Kumar allegedly sent the bomb threat in Firoz’s name to implicate him in a terror case. During interrogation, he reportedly admitted he wanted to frame Firoz due to a long-standing grudge.
During his arrest, police recovered seven mobile phones, three SIM cards, six memory card holders, an external SIM slot, two digital cards, and other electronic items.
A case has been registered as Crime No. 381/25 under sections 196(1)(a)(b), 351(2), 351(3), and 351(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Also Read: Ganesh Visarjan 2025: Traffic advisories issued in major cities
Hoax bomb threat
The panic began after Mumbai’s traffic police received a chilling WhatsApp message claiming “human bombs” and Pakistani terrorists were preparing massive blasts to “shake” the city.
The message, sent in the name of a group calling itself “Lashkar-e-Jihadi,” threatened to wipe out Hindus and wreak havoc.
The message, received by both the police control room and traffic police, triggered an immediate security review. It claimed 34 “human bombs” had been placed in vehicles across the city, that 14 Pakistani terrorists had entered India, and that 400 kg of RDX would be used.
Although the threat turned out to be a hoax, Mumbai police emphasised that every warning must be taken seriously given Mumbai’s history of terror attacks.
Additional forces were deployed across sensitive areas on Friday (September 5) night, as lakhs of devotees gathered for Ganpati immersion.