Over 25 schools in Chandigarh receive bomb threat emails; students, staff evacuated

CHANDIGARH: As many as 26 schools in Chandigarh received bomb threat emails on Wednesday, triggering evacuation of students and prompting police authorities to undertake anti-sabotage checks. Chandigarh Senior Superintendent of Police Kanwardeep Kaur said that so far, anti-sabotage checks have been conducted in 10 schools, where nothing suspicious was found and similar checks were underway in the rest of the schools.

Following a series of bomb threat emails, the Chandigarh administration advised people to remain calm and not panic. After the school authorities informed the police about bomb threat emails on Wednesday morning, policemen reached school premises and conducted thorough searches of the educational institutions, they said.

Several government and private schools, located in sectors 25, 19, 45, 16 and other areas received the threat emails. Students and staff were evacuated, they said, adding security was stepped up around the schools. Students on their way to the schools were sent back home, they said.

The school authorities told the police that they received bomb threat emails on Wednesday morning and thereafter, they informed the police. Bomb disposal and sniffer dog squads were rushed to the school premises to carry out searches. Speaking to reporters, SSP Kaur said they received calls from 26 schools about bomb threat emails.

Upon receiving information at control room 112, local police teams, fire brigades, ambulances and bomb disposal squads responded, she said. She said the emails were received from a gmail account and Chandigarh Police's cyber team is examining it.

Also read Student Suicides: ‘Need accountability, not new law; it’s about well-being, not mental health,’ says NTF

No school holiday announced

The email was addressed to schools, she said while replying to a question. An FIR has been registered in the matter at Sector 17 police station, said the SSP. The SSP said that schools which did not get bomb threat emails are open. She appealed to people to dial 112 emergency helpline number if they get threat calls.

The Chandigarh authorities advised all schools to maintain calm and not create unnecessary panic. "In case any threatening e-mail or message is received, the same should be immediately reported to the police, so that appropriate action can be taken as per established protocol," said an official statement.

Schools are advised not to declare holidays without any verification, as such actions may lead to avoidable panic among students, parents and the general public, it further said.

Meanwhile, Chandigarh Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav said parents and citizens are requested to remain calm regarding bomb threat emails received by some schools in Chandigarh. The incident comes close on the heels of similar incidents in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala in Punjab and Ambala in Haryana, where some schools got similar threats which later turned out to be hoaxes.