Delhi Police links student behind school bomb threats with 'politically-affiliated' NGO

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police claimed on Tuesday that a Class-12 student, who allegedly sent hoax bomb threats to more than 400 city schools, has been identified and that his parents are linked to an NGO that supports a political party. Police, however, did not reveal the name of the political party and said further investigation is underway.

A police officer said the boy was questioned and during investigation, it was found that the NGO had also voiced support to Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. According to police, the NGO's proximity to a political party raises critical questions regarding a possible larger conspiracy to create public unrest through disruptive tactics.

Addressing a press conference, Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Madhup Tewari said they were tracking e-mails and because of a virtual private network (VPN), it was difficult to track the origins of the e-mails. Police also had to ascertain whether there was a terror angle to it, he said, adding that service providers were not able to help either due to the use of the VPN.

" Our teams tracked the minor following recent e-mails on January 8. As the e-mail sender was a juvenile, the teams took his laptop and mobile phones for a forensic examination," Tewari said. The juvenile confessed to his crime and it was established that he was involved in several previous instances of similar threats sent to more than 400 schools in Delhi, including 250 threats on May 1 last year.

"The accused used multiple anonymous and encrypted e-mail service providers and advanced tools to conceal his identity," the officer said. The police teams tracked 400 threat e-mails sent by the minor. They also checked the background of his father, who has been working with the NGO, and found out that the organisation is part of a civil society group that has been raising issues regarding the hanging of Afzal Guru and is also helping a political party. In a statement, police said the NGO has a longstanding association and deep connections with a political party.

'NGO part of Afzal Guru supporters'

"This NGO is known for advocacy for the political party in open public domains. From a further analysis of the NGO's details, it was learnt that it is known for its stand on opposing the hanging of Afzal Guru, a convicted terrorist involved in the 2001 Parliament attack, and open advocacy for supporting a particular political party on various issues," police said.

On the motive of the minor accused, Tewari said a preliminary examination and an analysis of the evidence gathered have revealed that the primary motive behind the hoax e-mails was to create panic and disruption in schools. He said the hoax threats were delivered through heavily encrypted e-mail services and complex digital pathways, clearly indicating the intent to conceal identity and evade detection.

Police confirmed that schools in Delhi started receiving bomb threats from February 12, 2024 and that they were investigating the entire network. "A major breakthrough was achieved on January 8 this year when around 23 schools in Delhi received bomb threats through an e-mail, causing widespread panic, school closures and disruption of academic activities.

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"An FIR was lodged under section 351(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with section 66F of the Information Technology Act, at the Cyber South police station and further investigation was taken up," the officer said. He said after the January 8 e-mail, police identified the sender, questioned him and took his laptop and two mobile phones. "These devices were subjected to a preliminary forensic analysis, directly linking the accused to the threatening e-mails," Tewari said.