It is a serious issue that some of the top men in the Karnataka government—Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and Home Minister G Parameshwara, besides some senior police officials—received email threats about 24 hours after the March 1 Rameshwaram Cafe blast in Bengaluru. The threat describes the cafe blast as a “movie trailer” for larger blasts to follow targeting buses, trains, taxis, temples, hotels and public areas throughout Karnataka if the state government does not pay $2.5 million. But the mail—from the account shahidkhan10786@protonmail.com—does not mention to whom the payment is to be made, although it specifies a mail ID “for further communication”, shahidkhan11786@protonmail.com. The mail was made public only on March 5, three days after it was sent, indicating the government’s serious view of the threat. Its timing soon after the previous day’s blast cannot be ignored.

Source: Indian Express March 07, 2024 00:34 UTC