Blast mail threat: hacker arrested

New Delhi - 13 Sep 2011: The young computer hacking expert alleged to have sent the email in the name of the Indian Mujahideen, claiming responsibility for the Delhi High Court blast, to the Delhi Police, has been arrested at Patan in Gujarat. The accused had sent the email for fun.

The email was sent a day after the blast on September 7 from the email ID 'kill.india@yahoo.com' to the official mail address of the Delhi Police. Claiming that the Indian Mujahideen had carried out the explosion, the sender threatened to target a certain city indicated in a numerical code, which was deciphered as being Ahmedabad.

The police initially found that the email had been sent through a proxy server located in Moscow, but further probe led them to 23-year-old Manu Oza, who had been living with his friends at Patan. "A Crime Branch team arrested him on Sunday night after he confessed to having sent the email," said an Ahmedabad Police officer.

Manu's parents live in Ahmedabad. During interrogation, he reportedly disclosed that he had been living separately for the past five months following a quarrel with them. "He has done a course in ethical hacking. He used his skills to camouflage the Internet Protocol address of the computer through which he sent the email, showing it to having originated from Moscow," said the officer.

In the email, Manu had allegedly identified himself as Ali Saed El-Hoorie, resembling the name of the notorious terrorist from Saudi Arabia who is wanted by the United States.

In another development, two persons are being questioned in connection with the purported Harkat-ul-Jihadi email sent from Global Cyber Caf?t Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir soon after the blast.

The police have found no evidence against the two residents of Anantnag, who were picked up for questioning at Alwar, Rajasthan, on the suspicion of involvement in the blast. However, they have not been allowed to leave the city yet. "A decision in this regard will be taken on Tuesday," said a police officer. The two were in Alwar in connection with their bee-keeping business.

While Indian agencies have sought technical surveillance assistance from their counterparts abroad, it is learnt that they have zeroed in on some persons suspected to have links with terror outfits. The multi-pronged probe is spread across various States, including West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. Given that several members of the Indian Mujahideen's southern cell are at large, investigators may seek assistance from their counterparts in southern States.

source: The Hindu