Cyber Revenge: Techie Sparks National Panic with Hoax Bomb Threats Following Romantic Rejection
In a startling case of unrequited love turned criminal, Rene Joshilda—a robotics-trained engineer and senior consultant at Deloitte in Chennai—used her cyber expertise to launch a series of hoax bomb threats across India. Her motive: revenge against a man who didn’t return her affection and later married someone else.
According to police, Joshilda created multiple fake email IDs, including ones in the name of her former love interest, Divij Prabhakar. She then used virtual private networks (VPNs) and dark web tools to conceal her identity while sending a string of threatening emails that caused nationwide panic.
One of her emails was sent to the BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad, the same institution whose hostel was devastated in the deadly Air India AI-171 crash on June 13, which claimed 260 lives. In that message, Rene falsely claimed responsibility, suggesting the crash had been orchestrated:
“We crashed the Air India plane with our former CM… Now you know we are not playing.”
The hoax messages were deliberately timed to coincide with religious events or VIP visits to maximize chaos. Over a span of months, she sent threat emails to high-profile institutions and public locations including:
- 13 to Narendra Modi Stadium
- 4 to Geneva Liberal School
- 3 to Divya Jyoti School
- 1 to BJ Medical College
She also targeted locations in multiple states—Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Bihar, Telangana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana.
Despite her efforts to erase her digital footprints, investigators were able to trace her due to a critical technical oversight. Chennai police arrested her at her residence after a long digital manhunt.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sharad Singhal stated:
“She was extremely cautious and tech-savvy. But one small mistake helped us crack the case.”
This incident serves as a stark reminder of how digital tools, when misused, can lead to dangerous real-world consequences.
