Hoax bomb threats at over 45 Delhi schools, 3 colleges spark panic among students, parents

NEW DELHI: More than 45 schools and three colleges in Delhi received bomb threats via emails on Friday, triggering panic among the students and their parents. The threats, however, later turned out to be hoaxes. This was the fourth day this week that schools and colleges in the national capital were targets of bomb threats. Although the threats turned out to be hoaxes, many panic-gripped parents chose not to send their children to school on Friday.

"I did not send my son (to school) 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. Many parents had to rush to schools, leaving their work mid-way, after receiving communication about the threat. "Even if there is nothing, we cannot ignore the fear these messages cause. Parents can't focus on work, and the children feel tense too. It is an emotional rollercoaster," a father of a student of St Thomas Schools in Dwarka said.

Police, along with bomb disposal and dog squads, and the fire department, rushed to the schools and colleges as these institutions started receiving threats via email. The premises were evacuated and thoroughly searched, following which the threats were declared as hoaxes as nothing suspicious was found, an official said. Indraprastha (IP) College for Women, Hindu College and Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) in North Delhi received bomb threats . Schools in multiple districts of Delhi also received bomb threats.

Multiple Delhi schools receive bomb threats

In Dwarka, as many as six schools -- St Thomas School, G D Goenka School, DIS Edge School, Modern International School, Dwarka International School and La Petite Montessori -- informed police about the threats. Subsequently, rescue operations were initiated in these schools. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Ankit Singh said nothing suspicious had been found so far in these schools. In Rohini, MRG School in Sector 3, Delhi Public School , Sovereign Public School and Heritage Public School in Sector 24, Delhi International Public School in Sector 9, Abhinav Public School in Sector 3 and Heritage School were evacuated after they contacted the police over the threat.

Schools in Pitampura (Maxfort Junior School and Guru Nanak School) and Paschim Vihar (Richmond School and Doon Public School), too, experienced tense hours following the receipt of these emails. According to police, one of the threatening emails read, "Hello, I am writing to let you know that I have placed several explosive devices (Trinitrotoluene) within school classrooms. The explosives are skillfully hidden in black plastic bags." "I will erase every last one of you from this world. Not a single soul will survive. I will gladly laugh when I watch the news, only to see the parents show up at the school and to be greeted by the cold, dismembered bodies of their children," it said.

Over 45 schools targeted in Delhi

The threatening mail also mentions that after the news of the blast kicks in, the sender will commit suicide. Cyber sleuths have started tracking the origin of these threats, a police official said. Summerfield International School in South Delhi, St. Xavier's Senior Secondary School (Raj Niwas Marg), North Delhi Public School (Shalimar Bagh), Prudence School, Delhi Public School (Mathura Road), Mater Dei School (Tilak Lane) are also among the 45 schools that were the target of the threats.

Junior Delhi School, Delhi Public Schools (R K Puram, East of Kailash and Vasant Vihar), The British School (Chanakyapuri), Delhi City School (Bawana), Amity International School (Saket), and Cambridge Foundation School (Rajouri Garden) are also on the list of schools to receive threats. Former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi has slammed the BJP over the matter. "More than 20 schools have received bomb threats today! Think of the trauma that children, parents and teachers would be going through." "The BJP controls all four engines of governance in Delhi, and is yet not able to provide any safety or security to our children! Shocking!" she said in a post on X. On Thursday, multiple security agencies conducted mock drills at 10 locations to assess their readiness for any emergency.