Sender was connected to VPN when he emailed Zeeshan Siddique: Police

MUMBAI: The Bandra police have increased the security cover of the former NCP MLA Zeeshan Siddique and deployed six additional police personnel at his Bandra residence from Tuesday, in light of the recent threats he received from ‘D-Company’ on his email. The police said the sender had used Virtual Private Network (VPN) to send the three emails - one a day from Saturday night to Monday evening.

Siddique was given Y security but had demanded for an increase in the police protection for his family. Two additional officers with four constables from the Bandra police station are now deployed in two shifts at his residence for protection round the clock.

The police have registered an FIR under sections 308 (extortion) and 351 (threatening) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and are teaming up with the cyber police to trace the sender.

“This is the first time a threat like this is coming from the D-Company through email. It could be a prank, but we are taking it seriously and trying to extract the IP address of the sender, said a senior officer. “Once the cyber police provide us with the details, a police team can soon trace the accused,” he said.

The first email sent on Saturday demanded protection money of ₹10 crore, failing which he would be killed. “The subsequent emails were reminders of it and had the same content,” said a police officer. In his statement, Siddique said he did not check his inbox on Saturday and Sunday. He learnt about the emails on Monday after seeing a reminder notification.

Zeeshan’s father, former minister Baba Siddique, was shot by three assailants outside his son’s office in Bandra East on October 12 last year.