How cops nabbed 21-year-old who threatened Ambani

The first clue that Mumbai police’s Crime Intelligence Unit had about the psychology of the person threatening India’s wealthiest man came in the subject line of the third e-mail they sent to Mukesh Ambani’s office. ‘Catch Me If You Can’, it said, referencing Steven Spielberg’s 2002 film loosely based on the life of conman Frank Abagnale.

- Manish K Pathak and Vinay Dalvi

The person threatening the Reliance Industries’ chairman was clearly a show off. Armed with that knowledge about a chink in their armour, the Mumbai police began the hunt for Ambani’s anonymous tormentor. Over 5 consecutive days, starting October 27th, Ambani’s office received emails from a Mailfence account threatening to kill the 66-year-old billionaire if he did not pay up. The demand for money which started with ₹20 crore escalated to ₹200 crore and then to ₹400 crore. The third mail also mocked the Mumbai police’s inability to catch the sender.