Thiruvananthapuram: A Tamil Nadu native based in the US was arrested for allegedly sending more than 200 fake bomb threat messages targeting govt institutions, courts, airports, hotels and religious places across Keralam since 2023, police said on Saturday. The accused, Sharath Subramanyam, was arrested by Tamil Nadu police in July 2026 upon his arrival at Chennai airport for allegedly sending more than 1,500 hoax bomb threats across India.A team from the city cybercrime police brought Sharath from Chennai to the state capital on a production warrant, and he was arrested on Saturday, city police commissioner Arul R B Krishna said.Sharath worked in the information technology sector for 12 years and was engaged in research involving artificial intelligence. He allegedly used AI to send the fake threats and monitored their impact through local news reports, police said.Sharath allegedly sent around 40 fake bomb threat emails targeting establishments within Thiruvananthapuram city limits alone. The targets included the airport, the chief minister’s official residence, Cliff House; the governor’s residence, Lok Bhavan; the Secretariat; the district court; the collectorate; and five-star hotels.He also allegedly sent an email claiming that explosives, including RDX, had been planted at the German consulate in Thiruvananthapuram. The repeated threats disrupted the functioning of public institutions and raised security concerns. Court proceedings were affected after threat messages were sent to court complexes, including the Thiruvananthapuram district court, on six occasions.On March 18, 2025, a bomb threat claiming that explosives had been planted at the Thiruvananthapuram district collectorate prompted officials to evacuate the building. During a subsequent inspection by the bomb squad, a disturbed beehive led to several people, including senior officials, being stung. Many had to seek treatment at Peroorkada district model hospital and Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital.The accused also allegedly targeted the websites of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple and Attukal Bhagavathy Temple to obtain their email IDs and send threats that disrupted devotees’ access to the shrines. The state police chief and the transport commissionerate were also among the targets, police said.
