A software engineer who was arrested on July 22, 2026, at the Chennai airport on charges of sending a series of bomb threat emails has been taken into custody by the Madurai police for interrogation.

Sarath Subramanian Shankar, who had been working in the U.S., has been accused of sending more than 1,500 bomb threat emails between 2023 and 2025 to airports, educational institutions, political leaders, and senior police officials across the country.

The Tamil Nadu Counter Terrorism Wing arrested him and lodged him in Puzhal Prison. According to the police, Sarath has admitted to issuing 20 of the bomb threats involved in 31 cases registered by the Tamil Nadu Counter Terrorism Wing. Following this, the Madurai police have taken Sarath into custody for interrogation.

The case is now widening beyond Tamil Nadu, with police from Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Punjab, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh set to take Sarath into custody in connection with bomb threat cases registered in their respective States. The Counter Terrorism Wing stated that all these cases would soon be transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Published - August 21, 2026 12:53 pm IST