RBI Receives Bomb Threat Mail in Russian, Mumbai Police Launch Investigation

The Reserve Bank of India received an email on Thursday, December 12, threatening to blow up its headquarters in Mumbai with explosives.

The email, written in Russian, was sent to the official email address of RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra.

Upon receiving the threat, the Mumbai Police filed a case against the sender under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and launched an investigation.

A senior Mumbai Police officer commented, saying, "A threatening email was received on the official website of the Reserve Bank of India. The email was in Russian and warned of an explosion at the bank. A case has been registered against an unknown individual at Mata Ramabai Marg (MRA Marg) police station. An investigation into the matter is underway."

Sources indicate that police are investigating whether a VPN was used to send the email and are attempting to trace the IP address of the sender.

The threat email arrived just days after Sanjay Malhotra assumed office as the 26th Governor of the Reserve Bank, succeeding Shaktikanta Das, who completed a six-year term.

Malhotra, an IAS officer from the Rajasthan cadre, was selected by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Earlier last month, the RBI customer care centre in Mumbai also received a threat call from a man claiming to be the "CEO" of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba. The caller asked officials to block the back road, stating that an electric car had broken down. The matter was escalated to the Mumbai Police, who conducted a search, but found no suspicious activity.