(Image source from: Theprint.in)
An investigation into threatening emails about potential explosions at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and other locations across 12 states has revealed a story of unreturned affection and revenge, allegedly instigated by a corporate female executive from Chennai, resulting in her arrest. After the man she hoped would become her spouse married another woman, the suspect, identified as Rene Joshilda, sought retribution for what she perceived as rejection, utilizing deception to disrupt his life. According to law enforcement, she employed fraudulent email addresses, virtual private networks, and the dark web to conceal her identity and whereabouts. The Ahmedabad cyber crime unit apprehended her at her home in Chennai on Saturday after an extensive period of digital surveillance, which involved tracing her online activities, as reported by an official on Monday. Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sharad Singhal mentioned that Joshilda created multiple email accounts, some bearing the name of Divij Prabhakar, the man she wished to marry.
Joshilda is an engineer specializing in Robotics and has been a senior consultant at a multinational company in Chennai since 2022. Singhal explained to reporters that she obtained her engineering degree in Chennai, along with a course in Robotics. She harbored feelings for Divij Prabhakar and aspired to marry him, but her feelings were not reciprocated. Her hopes were shattered when Prabhakar wed another woman in February, which filled her with anger and a desire for vengeance. Singhal noted that in an attempt to implicate him, she created various email accounts, some mimicking Prabhakar’s name. Driven by her emotions, Joshilda exploited her technical expertise to instigate fear, oblivious to the consequences her actions had on innocent individuals who became unwitting victims of her fraudulent emails.
The police stated that Joshilda dispatched messages from unidentified accounts, threatening to detonate bombs at the Narendra Modi Stadium, BJ Medical College, and at least two schools in Ahmedabad. She reportedly targeted locations in 11 other states as well, strategically scheduling the threats close to religious gatherings or high-profile visits, according to Singhal. Law enforcement agencies from several states worked in collaboration with the cyber crime unit in Ahmedabad. "The accused utilized virtual numbers for the creation of fake email accounts and accessed the dark web," Singhal elaborated. Detailing the cat-and-mouse dynamic, the police officer remarked that Joshilda executed her maneuvers cleverly while concealing her online footprint. Nonetheless, an error on her part ultimately led investigators to her.
"We had been monitoring her activities for an extended period. Despite her intelligence and efforts to conceal her digital footprint, a minor error on her part led us to successfully locate her at her residence in Chennai," Singhal reported. He mentioned that authorities retrieved considerable digital and physical evidence linking Joshilda to the case. "It's safe to say we have dismantled a substantial operation," the officer declared. This inquiry originated from a police report filed at the Sarkhej police station in Ahmedabad after a threatening email was sent to a local school on June 3, 2025.
In the correspondence, the sender warned of plans to detonate a bomb at the school to draw police attention to the case of a girl who was assaulted at the Lemon Tree Hotel in Hyderabad in 2023.
According to the police, the suspect dispatched a total of 13 threatening emails to the Narendra Modi Stadium, four to Geneva Liberal School, three to Divya Jyoti School, and one to BJ Medical College. In addition, bomb threat emails were sent to various sites across Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Bihar, Telangana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana. One of the messages read, "Bomb successfully planted in Narendra Modi Stadium. Save the stadium if you can." Another email directed to BJ Medical College after the Air India incident claimed, "I think now you understand our power. As we informed you yesterday, we crashed the Air India plane with our former Chief Minister aboard. We believe the police dismissed the plane crash as a hoax. Kudos to our pilot. Now you realize we are serious. Now you understand."
