Prime Minister Narendra Modi |Photo: PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi |Photo: PTI 
Mumbai Police received a threat message on Saturday claiming to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The message was traced to a number registered in Ajmer, Rajasthan, and a police team was sent there to nab the suspect.
The WhatsApp message, received on the Mumbai traffic police's helpline in the early hours, mentioned two ISI agents and a plot to carry out a bomb blast targeting Modi, an official told news agency PTI. Investigators suspect that the sender may either be mentally disturbed or under the influence of alcohol. Further investigation is underway, the official added.
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The Mumbai traffic police helpline has received hoax threat messages several times in the past. In most cases, police have found that such messages are sent either by individuals under the influence of alcohol or those facing mental health challenges. Most of these threat messages come through the helpline's WhatsApp number.
In the last 10 days, the traffic police have also received two messages threatening to kill actor Salman Khan. Khan has previously received death threats from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. While Bishnoi is lodged in Ahmedabad's Sabarmati jail on charges including attempted murder and extortion, suspected members of his gang opened fire outside Khan’s Bandra residence in April.
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The hoax threats are not limited to the Mumbai traffic police. Over the past year, several institutions across the country, including hospitals, malls, colleges, airlines, and airports, have received hoax bomb threats.
As of November 14, airlines and airports received 999 hoax bomb threats this year, nearly 10 times more than in 2023, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol informed Parliament. Over 500 of these threats were reported in the last two weeks of October, causing widespread disruption to flight schedules.
The rise in such hoax threats have not spared historic monuments either. On December 3, a bomb threat targeting the Taj Mahal in Agra was sent via email to the Uttar Pradesh Tourism regional office. The sender threatened to blow up the monument. Following the email, bomb disposal squads, dog squads, and other investigative teams were sent to the site. Howevergamebet, nothing suspicious was found, confirming it to be a hoax.