BENGALURU: Officials of central agencies are interrogating Gokul Machery alias M.G. Gokul, who had allegedly sent hoax messages to the Kempegowda International Airport’s terminal manager threatening to blow up three flights on Friday night.
City Police Commissioner N.S. Megharikh said that there were no terror links to the threat messages, but the central agencies were questioning Gokul as the threat was serious, though hoax. “At 1.23 am on Saturday, the terminal manager received messages on WhatsApp from a local Airtel mobile number, threatening to blow up three flights with their specific details and the airport cargo section. The messages also read, ‘Islamic state wins’ and ‘get ready to see the firework above sea today’ etc. A thorough probe revealed that it was a hoax and was done for personal reasons.”
He said the accused will be booked under stringent provisions of the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act, 1982, and other sections of the IPC. “The same night, he had also sent similar threat messages to the Delhi International Airport’s terminal manager. Besides, he had also sent a threat message to an industrialist in New Delhi, demanding Rs 1 crore as protection and that he would eliminate the industrialist if the money was not credited to the bank account number given. The industrialist filed a complaint with the Delhi police and the officials of the Special Cell of the Delhi Police will also question him,” Mr Megharikh said.
He wanted to get Jose into trouble:
Mr Megharikh said that investigations made it clear that Gokul’s only intention was to defame Siju Jose and get him arrested, so that the hurdle in getting close to Jose’s wife would be removed. “Gokul had procured a SIM card based on the IDs of Jose and sent the messages. He wanted the police to initiate an enquiry against Jose and defame him so that he could get closer to Jose’s wife,” he said.
“In March 2015, Gokul was transferred to the city. Jose’s wife had introduced a real estate broker to him and he shifted to a flat in the East wing of Fernhill Gardens Apartment. Jose’s flat was located in the West wing of the same apartment. Gokul, in the last week of June, had stolen a photograph of Jose and his daughter, his graduation certificate photocopy and his passport photocopy and got a SIM in his name. He had also purchased a smart phone in the name of Mr Jose and had paid for it by cash. He then created a Facebook account and posted some objectionable content to implicate Mr Jose,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gokul was also planning to get rid of his wife, who allegedly had an extra-marital affair. “He used his official number to communicate with his wife Anuradha on WhatsApp, and claimed himself to he Aasha, an astrologer. He also created an email ID in the name of Aasha and convinced her to go for a legal separation. He also consulted an advocate for the divorce,” Mr Megharikh said.
“He confessed that on July 28, with the intention of telling his in-laws that Anuradha is alcoholic, Gokul through Whatsapp communicated to Anuradha in the name of Aasha to consume more liquor and he himself drank liquor at home. The same night, Anuradha drank, and had an argument with Gokul on shifting back to Delhi. When she was inebriated, he pushed her and assaulted her with a blunt weapon causing her death. Later around 4.30 am, he informed his neighbours that his wife was consuming alcohol, while he had fallen asleep and he later found her dead. He claimed that she slipped and hit her head to the TV stand accidentally and died,” he said.
“The same day, his in-laws reached Madiwala police station and did not suspect any foul play. The case was registered as unnatural death and the police are awaiting the forensic report. Now that he has confessed, it will be reopened and registered as a murder case. It has been transferred to the CCB for further investigation. He will be produced before the court and his police custody will be requested,” he added.
