Nearly 100 threatening, filthy SMSes sent to politicians

NEW DELHI - Nearly 100 threatening and flithy SMSes were sent to politicians like Shashi Tharoor, Brinda Karat and others in the last fortnight through two mobile numbers bought with forged documents, police said Friday.

“Of the two connections bought using documents of a gym instructor Manick Verma, one was transferred to another name using a different set of identification papers. Now we have detained a person named Yashpal,” said a senior police officer.

“It was found that an identification paper belonging to Yashpal was used in getting one of these two SIM cards. This number was used for sending threatening and filthy messages,” the officer added.

Forty percent of those messages were sent April 13-14 to Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Brinda Karat and Congress’ leaders Rashid Alvi and Sandeep Dikshit and others, the officer added.

Haryana police Thursday joined Delhi Police in searching for the person who had sent the “threatening” messages.

Verma, a resident of Hari Nagar in west Delhi, was questioned by police Wednesday evening, but was later let off.

Police said “filthy” messages were sent to Karat from the mobile number procured in Verma’s name. His ID was also used to send a threatening message to Tharoor.

A case has been already registered in this regard. The police believe that the same person is involved in all cases.

“Threat messages were sent to Shashi Tharoor from a mobile phone connection procured in his (Verma’s) name. We believe that he is innocent and some one has fraudulently obtained mobile phone connections in his name,” the police had said.

Verma told police that he had lost his driving licence some time ago.

“Some one is using the same to buy mobile phone connections fraudulently,” the police said.

According to rules, mobile phone connections can be sold only after getting address proof and a photograph from the customers.