New Delhi: In a major breakthrough following a high-stakes digital manhunt, the Delhi Police have apprehended a 47-year-old man in Karnataka for allegedly orchestrating a massive campaign of hoax bomb threats that spanned across India and even reached international borders.
The suspect, identified as Shrinivas Louis, was arrested on Thursday from his rented residence in Mysuru’s Vrindavan Layout. The operation was a joint effort between the Delhi Police Cyber Unit and local Karnataka authorities.
Louis, a law school dropout who is currently unemployed, is accused of sending nearly 1,500 threatening emails over several months. His targets were primarily judicial institutions, including the Delhi High Court and various district courts in the national capital.
He has also targeted the international judicial bodies, specifically targeting courts in Pakistan’s Sindh and Balochistan regions and various other government institutions and potentially several Delhi schools (currently under verification).
Police believe Louis’s primary motive was a deep-seated frustration stemming from his failure to complete his legal education and his lack of employment. “It is suspected that his intention was to paralyse the legal system and stall court proceedings,” a senior official part of the investigation team said.
The arrest was the culmination of a meticulous two-week investigation by the Delhi Police Cyber Police unit. While Louis attempted to mask his identity using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) for many of his emails, he eventually made a critical error by sending several messages without encryption.
These “naked” emails allowed investigators to trace a digital fingerprint back to a specific mobile number. Although the number had been deactivated, technical surveillance and local intelligence eventually pinpointed his location in Mysuru.
During the raid, officers recovered a significant cache of digital evidence, including a laptop used to draft and send the threats, multiple mobile phones and several SIM cards.
Louis, who lived with his mother, a retired government school teacher, was produced before a local court in Mysuru before being taken into custody for further interrogation.
The arrest comes at a time when Delhi is grappling with a surge in digital hoaxes. Over the past two years, the city has recorded more than 50 cases involving bomb threats, which have disrupted operations at over 500 schools and government offices.
Authorities are now working to map every location that received a threat from Louis and are investigating whether he acted as a “lone wolf” or was part of a larger conspiracy. For now, the man who once studied the law finds himself on the wrong side of it, facing severe charges for domestic and international cyber-terrorism.