Mumbai: Crime branch nabs trio wanting to bomb banks

Mohammed Arshil Mohammed Iqbal Topala; Wasimraja Abdulrazzak Memon; Adilbhai Rafiqbhai Malik

Three individuals have been apprehended by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch for sending a bomb threat to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and two other private banks. The threat, demanding the resignation of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, was sent via email using the address khilafat.india@gmail.com. The accused have been identified as Mohammed Arshil Mohammed Iqbal Topala, 27, Adil Bhai Rafiq Bhai Malik, 23, and Wasimraja Abdulrazzak Memon, 35.

The email, written in all caps with spelling mistakes, was sent at 10.50 am on December 26. It read, "We have planted 11 bombs in different locations of Mumbai. RBI, along with private sector banks, has executed the biggest scam in the history of India. This scam involves RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, some of the top banking officials, and some renowned ministers of India. We have sufficient solid proofs for the same. We also demand the government to give them both and all those who are involved the punishment they deserve. If our demands are not met before 1.30 pm, all the 11 bombs will blast one by one." The email also demanded that both the RBI governor and finance minister resign and issue a press statement with full disclosure of the scam.

Responding to the threat, the police, along with Bomb Detection and Disposal (BDDS) personnel, immediately conducted searches at the specified locations: New Central Office Building in Fort, HDFC Bank in Churchgate, and ICICI Bank Towers in BKC. Fortunately, no suspicious items were found at these locations.

DCP Raj Tilak Roushan (Detection 1), while talking exclusively to midday, said, "We have apprehended 3 individuals from Vadodara, Gujarat, regarding the recent bomb threat sent to RBI along with two private banks. We conducted a well-planned strategic operation based on technical investigation and a tip-off received from confidential sources. Accused Mohammed Arshil Mohammed Iqbal Topala is a share market trader with a degree in Business Administration (BBA) and was the one who had sent the threat mail. The threat was a well-planned email being sent to the banks."

"Parallelly, we were tracking the phone number used for the creation of the Gmail account. It was found that the SIM card belonged to Adilbhai Rafiqbhai Malik, who works at an egg shop and is a 10th-grade dropout," added the DCP while explaining the modus operandi.

"The SIM card used by Mohammed Arshil Mohammed Iqbal Topala for this was registered in the name of the third accused, who was identified as Wasimraja Abdulrazzak Memon, who runs a pan shop (Pan Tapri). All three accused were arrested based on tip-offs, conducting a strategic operation by the crime branch. All three will be handed over to MRA Marg police for further investigations," he revealed.