According to authorities, a former Somerset County man was charged on Thursday with threatening three New Jersey judges, a local elected official, and a resident of his previous town via violent voicemails.
According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of New Jersey, Abhinaba Barthakur, 58, a former resident of Hillsborough Township, was charged with five counts of sending a threat in interstate or foreign commerce and one count of retaliating against a federal judge by threat.
According to the office, Barthakur, who holds dual citizenship with India and the United States, departed the country in 2018 and hasn’t been back since.
No attorney information was provided for Barthakur, and a U.S. Attorney’s office spokesman could not be reached for comment at this time.
According to the office, Barthakur contacted two justices of the New Jersey Superior Court and a United States District Court judge in the District of New Jersey between September 13, 2020, and November 26, 2024, leaving voicemails threatening them with murder, assault, and finger removal.
According to investigators, two of the judges oversaw civil cases involving Barthakur, and another oversaw a family court case involving him.
Barthakur threatened to assault and amputate the fingers of a government official in the state’s executive branch when he called their office in Somerville on July 14, 2020, according to the office.
Federal prosecutors stated that on October 16, 2023, Barthakur called a resident of Somerset County and left voicemails threatening to use a.22 caliber handgun to assault and kill the person.
The statement did not name any of the individuals Barthakur had threatened.
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