Man arrested for allegedly sending threat email targeting West Bengal Chief Minister

PTI, May 16, 2026, Kolkata : A man was arrested from Kolkata’s Garden Reach area for allegedly sending an email to the police threatening a suicide bomb attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari “with the help of teror outfit Al Qaeda”, a senior officer said on Saturday.

The man, identified as 27-year-old Hasnain Iqbal, was arrested on Friday night following a joint probe by the cyber cell and the Special Task Force (STF) of Kolkata Police.

Additional CP-IV of Kolkata Police, V. Solomon Nesakumar, said the threatening email was received by Bhowanipore police station around 10.15 am on May 14.

The email sender claimed that a suicide attack would be carried out on the CM with the help of Al Qaeda.

“The email was sent using the identity of a woman. After receiving a complaint, an investigation was immediately initiated by the cyber wing and the STF,” Nesakumar told reporters.

During the probe, investigators traced the email trail to Hasnain Iqbal, a resident of Golam Abbas Lane in Garden Reach.

Police said the accused later admitted to sending the email during questioning.

“Preliminary investigation suggests that the woman in whose name the email was sent was known to the accused. We suspect that the intention was to harass or implicate her and her family,” Nesakumar said.

Investigators also found that the accused had earlier allegedly sent emails to several government institutions, including the Election Commission, another police officer said.

Iqbal possessed advanced knowledge of information technology and was skilled in creating IP addresses and related technical tools, which he allegedly used while sending such emails, he said, adding that further investigation is underway.