The schools are evacuated after local police are informed about the threat emails

At least 100 schools in the Delhi-NCR area received bomb threats through emails on Wednesday leading to chaos and widespread alarm but “nothing objectionable” was found, officials said, requesting people not to panic.

The schools were evacuated after local police were informed about the threat emails.

According to Delhi Fire Service (DFS), at least 97 calls from different schools have been received till noon on Wednesday. All the calls are being attended diligently, an officer said.

Multiple private schools in Noida and Greater Noida also received the bomb threat.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said it appears to be a hoax threat and that there is no need to panic.

Delhi Police said it had conducted a thorough check of all schools that received the bomb threat but found nothing.

“Some schools of Delhi received emails regarding bomb threats. Delhi Police has conducted thorough check of all such schools as per protocol,” Delhi Police said in a post on X. 

“Nothing objectionable has been found. It appears that these calls seem to be hoax. We request the public not to panic and maintain peace,” it said.

According to Delhi police officials, the email is suspected to have been sent from one source to schools in Delhi and adjoining Noida and Greater Noida.

Sources said the content of the mail to every school is the same.

The Union Home Ministry termed the bomb threat as a "hoax" and asked people not to panic.

Police and security agencies are taking necessary steps as per protocol, the ministry said.

"There is no need to panic. Mails appear to be hoax. Delhi Police and security agencies are taking necessary steps as per protocol," a home ministry official said.

Noida Police said all such schools that received the emails were thoroughly checked. The bomb threat was found to be a hoax, Additional Commissioner of Police (law and order) Shivhari Meena said.

"This morning a threatening email was received by a chain of schools after which police teams responded to the situation immediately," Additional CP Meena said.

"All such schools that received the threats were thoroughly checked and sanitised. At no place any such thing (threat) has come to light and it is proved that the email was sent to trigger a rumour," he said.

Reacting to the development, Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena wrote on X that he spoke to the police commissioner and sought a detailed report into the bomb threats at schools in Delhi-NCR.

"Directed Delhi Police to carry out a thorough search in school premises, identify the culprits and ensure there are no lapses," he said, requesting parents not to panic and cooperate with the administration in ensuring safety of schools and the children.

"The miscreants and culprits will not be spared," he added.

Delhi Education Minister Atishi also requested parents not to panic and wrote on X, "Some schools have received bomb threats this morning. Students have been evacuated and those premises are being searched by Delhi Police. So far nothing has been found in any of the schools.

“We are in constant touch with the police and the schools. Would request parents and citizens not to panic. School authorities will be in touch with parents wherever needed,” Atishi said.

Visuals from Mayur Vihar's Mother's Mary school showed concerned parents assembling outside the school to pick their children.

The school administration was seen making announcements on the microphone while parents rushed to collect their wards.

"I dropped my child 10-15 minutes ago. Then I received a call from the school to take my child back due to some emergency," Vijay Kumar, a parent, said.

"I had come to drop my children. I saw a lot of people had gathered here and there were shouts of people coming from inside the school. When we inquired, we didn't get any satisfactory response," Manoj Kumar, a local resident and parent of a student studying in the school, said.

Similar visuals were seen outside Chanakyapuri's Sanskriti School where parents were seen rushing to pick their wards.

Fire tenders, ambulances and lines of police vehicles were seen on stand-by outside the schools, while bomb detection teams and bomb disposal squads were conducting searches inside the schools.

Kirti, another parent, said she dropped her son at BGS International School, Dwarka, and was waiting outside for him to go inside when she saw him return with school staff.

"As usual I was waiting outside of the school when I saw my son returning along with all the staff members. I was very worried…When some people shouted that there was a bomb in school, I immediately asked my son to sit on the scooter," she said.

Several schools called and sent messages to parents to urgently pick their wards from the school.

In Noida too, bomb disposal squads and sniffer dogs were rushed to the schools which received the threat. Overall security was beefed up in the twin cities as a precautionary measure.

The threat was sent to branches of Delhi Public School (DPS) in Noida and Greater Noida, and some other schools via emails by an anonymous sender, Noida police officials said.

Other schools that did not receive bomb threats were also flooded with queries by parents and guardians who were worried about their wards' safety.

According to police officials, initial investigations suggest that mails have been sent to multiple locations since Tuesday, which appear to have the same pattern. 

Courtesy: The Tribune India: 1st May , 2024