'I did not send my son to school today': Panic grips parents as Delhi schools face bomb threats

NEW DELHI: Several parents across Delhi chose to keep their children home on Friday after around 45 schools received bomb threats in the national capital via email for the fourth time this week. While institutions operated with caution and authorities later confirmed all threats to be hoaxes, the ongoing pattern has raised concerns among families.

"I did not send my son today. It is not that we are panicking, but after repeated incidents, it feels safer to wait things out," said Parmita Sharma, a parent whose child studies at Richmond School, Paschim Vihar.

Echoing similar sentiments, Vikram Singh, whose daughter attends Sovereign School in Rohini, said, "Even if nothing serious is found, these hoax emails disturb the mental peace of children and parents. We discussed it in our parent group and many of us decided to skip school for a day," he said.

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All threats declared hoaxes, says Delhi Police

At the Sovereign Public School, where one of the threatening emails was received, the situation remained under control. The school resumed regular classes after a police inspection found nothing suspicious.

"We informed the authorities immediately upon receiving the email. The building was cleared after a full check, and we are conducting classes normally. We had already done emergency drills earlier this year, which helped us respond calmly," School Chairperson RK Jindal said.

While schools like Sovereign continued with classes after obtaining security clearance, others, such as Maxfort Junior School in Pitampura and Cambridge Foundation School in Rajouri Garden, experienced some evacuations and a cautious handling of students present on campus.

Delhi Police, along with bomb squads and fire services, inspected all affected schools, including institutions in Dwarka, Rohini, Vasant Vihar, Janakpuri, and East of Kailash. More than 45 schools were allegedly targeted. "All threats have been declared hoaxes after inspections," a senior police official confirmed, adding that investigations into the source of the emails are underway.