How Police Made A Breakthrough In Mukesh Ambani Death Threat Case?

In November 2023, the Mumbai police arrested a 21-year-old youth who allegedly sent five threatening emails to industrialist Mukesh Ambani. The accused, identified as Rajveer Khant, is a BCom student from Gujarat. The Indian Express reported that Rajveer Khant used a virtual private network (VPN) to send threat emails to the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).

As per the report, the police said that the accused thought that he would never be caught as he used a VPN to mask his location. However, Rajveer Khant reportedly used a trial version of the VPN instead of purchasing it.

According to a Mumbai police officer, Rajveer Khant sent threatening emails to Mukesh Ambani and demanded Rs 20 crore to Rs 400 crore. The Indian Express reported that the accused also signed off his emails with ‘Catch me if you can’. The 21-year-old initially created an account with an email service provider that is not available in the country. He did this using a VPN, where one can select any nation’s IP address.

Notably, the accused made the email ID under the name ‘Shadab Khan’. The report further added that, according to the police, Rajveer Khan created the account while watching a Pakistan vs South Africa match where Pakistan bowler Shadab Khan was bowling. The accused believed that he would not be traced as he used the VPN for the crime. According to Microsoft, a VPN is a type of online service that permits users to hide their browsing activity, identity, and location while browsing the internet.

The report said that police are equipped with technical resources to trace people masking their IP addresses using VPNs. Here, Rajveer Khant used a trial version of VPN, and this made the job easier for the police. “It was just a ping to a service provider before the VPN network came off for a short time that helped us get his location to Kalol in Gujarat,” said the police officer, as quoted by The Indian Express. The officer further said that Rajveer Khant was shocked when the police reached his house. “He could not believe how we reached him,” added the officer.