The North News
Chandigarh, July 18
A 24-year-old software engineer, Shubham Dubey, from Haryana, has been detained in Amritsar over a series of threatening emails targeting the Golden Temple. The investigation now spans multiple states amid fears the temple’s name was misused to stir political tensions in Tamil Nadu. The Golden Temple in Amritsar, one of Sikhism’s holiest shrines, has been under threat for nearly a week — not from physical violence, but from an alarming series of emails claiming plans to blow it up. On Friday, the case took a new turn when Punjab police detained a 24-year-old software engineer, Shubham Dubey, from Faridabad, Haryana, in connection with the emails.
Dubey, who had previously worked with two tech companies but is now unemployed, is accused of sending multiple bomb threats via email, including at least five directed at the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) since 14 July. These emails warned of the use of RDX to destroy the temple complex, the police said. Security around the shrine has since been tightened, with search operations launched across the premises and adjoining areas.
What began as a local security scare has now evolved into a multi-state investigation involving police and intelligence agencies across Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and Tamil Nadu. Police say the emails were not limited to the Golden Temple. “Similar messages were sent to Delhi schools, courts, chief ministers, MPs, and institutions across Tamil Nadu,” the police further said.
More curious still is the pattern that has emerged from the content of the emails. According to officials, while the first few lines mention the Golden Temple, much of the rest is focused on political issues in Tamil Nadu — particularly involving the ruling DMK party. Officials suspect the threats may be a cover to draw attention to southern political matters or provoke instability by invoking a sensitive religious site.
“This may not just be about Punjab. The emails reference events, leaders and institutions linked to Tamil Nadu. This is not random,” the police said.
Police believe the accused used the dark web to disguise his location and avoid detection, routing the emails through foreign IP addresses. Initial threats were sent from Outlook accounts, but later messages were traced to Hotmail — further complicating the forensic trail.
