Man arrested for threatening Suvendu Adhikari, claiming Al Qaeda links
What's the story
A 27-year-old man, Hasnain Iqbal, was arrested from Kolkata's Garden Reach area for sending a threatening email to West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. The email, which was sent on May 14, claimed that a woman named Abida Ali was working with Al Qaeda and planning a suicide attack on the chief minister. The Bhabanipur Police Station received the email at around 10:15am on that day.
Investigation progress
Email sent using a woman's identity
The Kolkata Police's cyber cell and Special Task Force (STF) launched a joint investigation into the email threat. Additional Commissioner of Police V Solomon Nesakumar said the email was sent using a woman's identity. "The email was sent using the identity of a woman," he said, adding that Iqbal was traced to Golam Abbas Lane in Garden Reach during the probe.
Confession revealed
Accused had prior knowledge of it
During interrogation, Iqbal admitted to sending the threatening email and said he had personal enmity with Ali. He was trying to frame her, police said. The accused had prior knowledge of information technology and used it to send such emails. Further investigation is underway as Iqbal allegedly sent similar emails to other government institutions in the past.
Related incidents
Arrest of online content creators
The arrest of Iqbal comes after two online content creators were arrested in Dinhata, West Bengal's Cooch Behar district, for posting a derogatory video against CM Adhikari. The West Bengal Police had warned of strict legal action against those uploading abusive or inflammatory content. "No individual was permitted to upload or circulate content containing abusive language or material that could hurt religious or social sentiments," the police said.