Who is Ashwini Kumar, the astrologer arrested for Mumbai terror threat?
Investigators said Ashwini Kumar allegedly sent the threat message in the name of Firoz in an attempt to frame him in a terror case linked to Mumbai.
Mumbai police have arrested a 51-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh's Noida for allegedly sending a WhatsApp message threatening to blow up the city with multiple bombs.
The accused has been identified as Ashwini Kumar, an astrologer and vastu consultant from Patliputra in Patna, Bihar. He has been living in Noida’s Sector 79 for the past five years with his parents. His father, Suresh Kumar, is a retired education department official, and his mother, Prabhawati, is a homemaker.
Police said Kumar, a postgraduate, has been estranged from his wife, Archana, and has a history of financial disputes. In 2023, he was jailed for three months after his friend Firoz, a Bihar resident, lodged a case against him at Phulwari Sharif police station in Patna.
Investigators said Kumar allegedly sent the latest threat message in Firoz’s name to implicate him in a terror case.
During the arrest, police seized seven mobile phones, three SIM cards, six memory card holders, an external SIM slot, two digital cards, and other electronic items.
A case has been registered as Crime No. 381/25 under sections 196(1)(a)(b), 351(2), 351(3), and 351(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Threat message
According to Mumbai Police, the WhatsApp threat warned that 34 “human bombs” had been planted in 34 vehicles across the city. It also claimed that 14 Pakistani terrorists had entered India and that 400 kg of RDX would be used in the blasts. The message, sent in the name of a group calling itself “Lashkar-e-Jihadi”, threatened to wipe out Hindus and “shake Mumbai.”
The message was received by both the police control room and the traffic police, leading to an immediate security review. “Mumbai Police is alert, and security across the state has been enhanced. All angles of the threat are being investigated,” the force said in a statement.
The incident comes days after another man was arrested for making a hoax call about blowing up Kalwa railway station in Thane district.
