In Bengaluru, rumours of threats to the city and its residents had started a few days ago. It began with tweets threatening vengeance for the arrest of the man allegedly behind the pro-Islamic State twitter handle @ShamiWitness. Then there were warnings of a hostage situation in the city similar to the events that unfolded in Sydney. Most recently, a WhatsApp message began doing the rounds that spoke of danger to schools and colleges and several prominent city localities that have been named.