Why tracing threat emails has become a challenge for Mumbai police

4 min readJun 22, 2026 10:50 AM IST

Sources said only those cases where the sender lacks the technical expertise to properly conceal their identity are eventually solved. (Photo/AI-generated)

When the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) received a series of threat emails last week warning of blasts at government offices, including the Chief Minister’s Office, investigators found digital trails leading to five different locations across the world, from the European Union and the United States to India.

Police officials say those locations were almost certainly a smokescreen.

The IP addresses traced during the investigation are believed to have been masked using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), making it increasingly difficult for law enforcement agencies to identify the actual sender.

The challenge is not new. In 2024, when a Facebook post claimed responsibility for the firing outside actor Salman Khan’s residence in Bandra, investigators traced the IP address to Portugal. Officials later suspected that the original source had been concealed through similar methods.

The growing use of VPNs and encrypted communication platforms has emerged as one of the biggest hurdles in cyber investigations involving threat emails.

The problem, according to investigators, begins once the trail reaches the VPN provider.

“We send emails on the IDs mentioned on their websites but we never receive a response,” an officer said.

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Another officer explained why such investigations often hit a dead end.

“For most of these VPN companies, anonymity is their USP. Requests coming from another country’s police, can easily be stonewalled. Going through legal channels via the government using the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) is a time-consuming process that could take years.”

As a result, several investigations stall at the VPN level itself.

Sources said only those cases where the sender lacks the technical expertise to properly conceal their identity are eventually solved.

One such instance involved threat emails sent to the Ambani family in 2024. Investigators were able to trace the messages to a 24-year-old accused after a brief glitch in the free VPNservice he was using exposed his actual IP address.

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“In the absence of any such glitches, it becomes difficult to track the sender or even find the country from which the email is sent. Sometimes the IP address is so well masked we suspected some foreign agency may be behind it,” an officer said.

The inability to identify senders has also affected the way police register such complaints.

“Now in most of these threat cases, we take a Non-Cognisable offence as most of these cases go unsolved, increasing our count of unsolved FIRs,” the officer said.

Officials said VPNs are only part of the challenge. Many senders now rely on encrypted email services such as Proton Mail, which provide another layer of anonymity.

“Apart from VPNs, some accused use secure mail services like Proton Mail, due to which there is no way to track perpetrators. Every time a threat mail is received, we carry out basic searches because we cannot ignore the possibility of a genuine threat. But it leads to a loss of resources every time such mail is received,” an official said.

Recent threat emails

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On June 14, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport received a threat claiming bombs had been planted at multiple locations across Mumbai and would explode shortly. The email was signed “HAIL SWAT TERROR X SWAT KATS”.

On June 10, the BMC received emails warning of explosions at multiple locations, including the Mayor’s office, the Chief Minister’s Office, the BSE building and civic offices. The messages, sent to several official email IDs, contained references to Khalistan and included inflammatory and threatening content.

Earlier, on March 12, the National Stock Exchange office in Kurla received a threat email warning of missile and bomb attacks at key locations in Mumbai. The message claimed that “Mumbai will echo Khalistan” and threatened blasts across the city.

Mohamed Thaver is a highly specialized journalist with the Expertise and Authority required to report on complex law enforcement and legal issues. With a career dedicated to the crime beat for over a decade, his work provides readers with informed and trustworthy insights into Maharashtra's security and justice systems.

Experience & Authority

Core Focus: Has been exclusively covering the crime beat for over a decade, building deep, specialized knowledge in the field.

Geographical Authority: Currently focuses heavily on law enforcement and policy in Maharashtra, providing authoritative coverage of the state's security apparatus.

Key Beats:

Law Enforcement: Reports on the operations of the Maharashtra Police and the Mumbai Crime Branch.

Policy & Administration: Covers the Maharashtra Home Department, focusing on policy matters related to handling law and order and the evolution of the police force.

Judiciary: Has significant past experience covering the courts, giving him a comprehensive understanding of the entire criminal justice process from investigation to verdict.

Specialized Interest (Cyber & Forensics): Demonstrates Expertise in modern investigative techniques, with a keen focus on cyber crime and forensics, reporting on how these technologies assist complex crime investigations.

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Mohamed Thaver’s long-standing specialization in the crime beat—combined with his focus on technological aspects like cyber crime and his direct coverage of major institutions like the Mumbai Crime Branch and the Maharashtra Home Department—underscores his Trustworthiness and status as an expert source for detailed and reliable journalism on law and order.

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