The terror email sent in the name of Indian Mujahideen on Saturday has been traced to a computer in Mumbai's Khalsa College. The unidentified sender apparently took advantage of the unsafe WiFi internet system in the college. The eight-page email was sent from the email address alarbi.alhindi@gmail.com .
The sender threatened officers of the Mumbai anti-terrorism squad (ATS) and also some officers in the Gujarat police. "It was sent at 7.03 pm on Saturday to a news channel which forwarded a copy to the cyber crime cell and the ATS last night. We worked on it and traced the internet protocol address to Khalsa College's computer laboratory," an officer told TOI on Sunday.
The laboratory is located on the ground floor of the college which is hardly 10 metres from a lane. The WiFi system, which did not have any security, could have been used from a range of 20-30 metres.
A team of ATS officers reached Khalsa College at Matunga on Sunday morning and were busy examining all the computers. They are yet to seize the 'suspect' computer. "We have not recorded the statements of the students who were present in the laboratory at that time. We are making preliminary inquiries and will record their statements later," said an officer.
"One computer in the laboratory with an internet connection was switched on. However, the connection did not have any password and the accused might have taken advantage of this," said TOI's source.
At 7pm, three students were present in the laboratory and were working on their project. Students of biochemistry, computer science and even those doing their PhD use the laboratory. While the laboratory has 12 more machines, only one was connected to internet at that time. The laboratory was closed at 7.45pm, said the police. "The email is similar to several other mails sent on earlier occasions. Our teams are investigating the matter," said ATS additional commissioner P B Singh.
A similar email ID was used to send a message to TV channels after the July 26 bomb blasts in Gujarat. The Gujarat email had claimed that a new outfit, Indian Mujahideen, was responsible for the bomb blasts. The IP address of the Gujarat email was traced to a Navi Mumbai flat where US national Ken Haywood was staying. Even in that case, the accused had taken advantage of a WiFi network since Haywood's computer did not have any password or security system installed in it.