The terror alert in Mumbai from September 26 to 28 was triggered by a screenshot from a 14-year-old Navi Mumbai boy’s gaming chatbox, causing alarm over a potential threat. The boy’s deep immersion in the virtual world of the game "Parallel Virtual Life" blurred the boundaries between fantasy and reality, escalating into a large-scale security response. As a precaution, over 15,000 police personnel, including Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) teams and other security agencies, were deployed across Mumbai to counter any potential threat.
The Central Intelligence Agency, in collaboration with the Maharashtra ATS, has initiated an extensive forensic analysis of the boy's activities on the gaming app, collaborating with forensic data experts to retrieve and scrutinize chat logs from his account on the platform.
According to officials, the situation escalated after the Delhi Intelligence Bureau (IB) intercepted a troubling screenshot from a gaming chatbox, where the 14 years old boy allegedly shared images of arms and ammunition.The messages included discussions about the appropriate gloves and kits needed for handling weapons in preparation for a potential attack on religious sites and crowded places in Mumbai.
The boy was reportedly conversing with another gamer from Slovakia, known as Nikolai on the platform, further raising concerns when the Slovakian participant deleted the chats shortly after the exchange.Slovakia, a landlocked country in Central Europe bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, and Austria and the Czech Republic to the west, has drawn significant attention due to this incident.
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According to reliable sources within the agency, the 14-year-old had been highly active on the DISCORD APP, a popular gaming and communication platform. Over the past few months, the boy had become engrossed in multiplayer games that involve real-time chat and allowing users to strategize against opposing teams in a virtual environment world.engaging in various games linked to hypothetical violent scenarios where teams countered one another through coordinated planning via voice and text chat. Discord provides several private and public server platforms where users can group with friends and others.
During questioning, the agency determined that the boy spent most of his time on the discord gaming platform, immersing himself in the virtual world of Parallel Virtual Life in gaming. On September 25th, during a discussion on the Discord gaming server chatbox, he reportedly shared plans for an attack and strategic insights, posting images of assault rifles, arms and ammunition in the chat. He also planned a virtual attack prank involving assaults on religious sites and crowded places in Mumbai while discussing defence and handling the weapon and munitions with specific target points alongside a boy named Nikolai from the Slovak Republic. This chat box featured hundreds of participants, encompassing both boys and men.
According to top officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, details emerged from their technical desk after detecting specific keywords on digital platforms that were flagged as objectionable and appeared in a suspicious format.the intelligence technical desk identified a private chat group where objectionable terms were repeatedly flagged. Over the past four to five days, the ATS, Maharashtra Police, and other agencies have been continuously responding to various threat calls and emails. Recently, Pune Police received a hoax call threatening the Prime Minister's life, which was later neutralized.Mumbai Police also dealt with a bomb threat targeting Haji Ali, which was similarly addressed. With Home Minister Amit Shah planning to visit Mumbai on October 1st, agencies heightened their concerns prior to his arrival. However, in this case,the intelligence technical desk identified a private chat group where objectionable words were repeatedly flagged. The use of multiple suspicious virtual IDs, resembling a close-knit community, raised further alarms. The boy was reportedly discussing plans to target religious sites within this private server, which operated through VoIP, intensifying concerns.
This type of chat had been under scrutiny by the agency for several months, as gaming apps are increasingly being used as covert communication tools with coded language for message passing. Consequently, the intelligence input was taken very seriously and shared with the Mumbai Police and Maharashtra ATS, especially with the Hindu festival Navratri starting this week. On the other side, any suspicious activities against minority communities could create a riot-like situation.
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In response to the escalating threat, Mumbai Police and Maharashtra ATS flagged over 70 temples, mosques, and other religious sites for heightened security measures. Continuous surveillance and thorough security checks were implemented, with round-the-clock personnel deployed to prevent any potential incidents from September 26 to 28, until the suspicion surrounding the operation was confirmed as deactivated.
The Chat is currently deleted by the slovakia boy Nikolai from his account.but authorities managed to retrieve the chats from the Mumbai boy’s account, providing critical information for the ongoing investigation. After several hours of questioning, the boy was released, but efforts to uncover Nikolai's real identity and further details from their chats are ongoing.