The preliminary investigation into the Thane synagogue bomb hoax case suggests that the threat e-mail was sent from a European country and the sender has been identified, an official said on Saturday.

An inspector of Thane City Police said the probe is at the initial stage but they have made some headway.

"We have identified the sender of the e-mail through a VPN address located in a European country, but the exact location is not confirmed," he said while refusing to divulge further details.

He said teams of various cells of police are conducting the investigation.

According to a release by the police, the ‘Gate of Heaven’ synagogue, a place of worship for Jewish people located near Civil Hospital, received an email around Thursday noon claiming that a bomb was planted there.

The police later declared the email a hoax after the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) thoroughly checked the premises and did not find anything alarming there.

A case was registered and a probe was underway, the police had said.

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