Mumbai: Maharashtra Police went into overdrive on Thursday, September 5 after a WhatsApp message warned that 14 terrorists armed with 400 kg of RDX had entered the city, ready to strike during the high-security Anant Chaturthi celebrations. For hours, the threat hung like a cloud over the metropolis, until investigators traced the chilling message back to an unsuspecting housing society in Noida. The man behind the scare wasn’t a terrorist at all, but Ashwani Kumar, a 51-year-old self-styled astrologer from Patna. His motive? Pure vengeance. Kumar told police he wanted to destroy the reputation of an old associate who had once dragged him to court in 2023 — a case that saw him spend three months behind bars. To settle the score, he framed his rival by sending the fabricated message in his name, inventing a shadowy terror outfit called “Lashkar-e-Jihadi” to make it sound convincing.

Noida Police swooped down on Kumar within hours and handed him over to Mumbai Police. The threatening message, sent to the official WhatsApp number of Mumbai Traffic Police, claimed that 34 vehicles across the city had been rigged with “human bombs” and warned that the blasts would cause massive destruction. Kumar had identified himself as a member of “Lashkar-e-Jihadi,” adding to the initial fear.

What began as a city-wide terror alert ultimately unraveled as a personal vendetta, a dangerous hoax with the potential to cause widespread panic. Mumbai Police have seized Kumar’s phone and SIM card and are conducting further investigation.
 

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