The Mumbai Crime Branch has filed a chargesheet against Rajveer Jagatsingh Khant (20) and Ganesh R Vanparthi (19), two college students who sent threatening emails to Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani demanding a substantial sum of money. Khant and Vanarthi were apprehended in Gujarat and Telangana, respectively, in November of last year. The accused individuals sent separate threat emails demanding ₹20 crore, then ₹400 crore, and finally ₹500 crore. At the time of their arrest, Khant, the son of a Gujarat police head constable, was pursuing his third year of commerce at Gujarat’s Kalol. Known for his tech-savviness and internet enthusiasm, Khant was apprehended by the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU).
In one of his emails, sent through virtual private networks (VPNs) to mask his location, Khant defiantly challenged the authorities, declaring, “Catch Me If You Can.” For one of his email accounts, he adopted the name ‘Shadab Khan’ after watching a cricket World Cup match. Meanwhile, Vanaparthi, a computer science student from Warangal, also sent a threat email.
The police submitted the chargesheet against the accused for extortion, criminal intimidation, and destruction of evidence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as well as relevant sections of the Information Technology Act, as reported by the Times of India. Khant sent five emails to Ambani between October 27th and November 1st, 2023, with escalating demands ranging from ₹20 crore to ₹400 crore. Acting independently, Vanaparthi sent a single email to Ambani on November 1st, demanding ₹500 crore, as reported by the Hindustan Times, citing the chargesheet.
Despite sending their threats separately, the police combined the investigations due to the shared target and submitted a joint chargesheet, according to a senior police officer quoted by the Times of India. Prior to their arrests, both Khant and Vanparthi deleted all items from their outboxes. The accused utilized Mailfence and ProtonMail, secure and private email services, to conceal their activities.
