Six schools in Delhi on Friday received bomb threat emails, leading to immediate action by authorities. The schools affected include Bhatnagar Public School (Paschim Vihar), Cambridge School (Sriniwaspuri), DPS (East of Kailash), South Delhi Public School (Defence Colony), Delhi Police Public School (Safdarjung Enclave), and Venkatesh Public School (Rohini). The threats caused widespread panic among parents and school staff, but after thorough checks, the police confirmed that no explosives were found at any of the locations.
The Delhi Police issued a statement saying they were following the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for such threats, which includes thorough inspections of the premises.
The first alert was received at 4:30 a.m., and fire department and police teams rushed to the locations of the affected schools. After conducting detailed searches, no suspicious items were found.
The threatening email claimed that a secret dark web group was behind the activity and warned of powerful bombs capable of destroying buildings and harming people. It specifically mentioned that the threat would coincide with upcoming parent-teacher meetings and a sports day event at one of the schools, which would supposedly provide an opportunity to target a large gathering. The email also named the dates, stating, “December 13-14 these both days can be the day your school will face a bomb blast,” and included a demand for a reply to avoid detonation.
Earlier bomb threats targeting schools in Delhi, including one on December 9 that affected schools in RK Puram and Paschim Vihar, were found to be hoaxes. On that occasion, students were sent home as a precaution while thorough searches were conducted. Similarly, over 40 Delhi schools were targeted on December 11 with ransom demands in exchange for not detonating bombs. In all cases, no explosives were found, but the threats caused significant disruption.
This latest threat is part of a disturbing trend of similar email hoaxes targeting schools in recent weeks. In response, the Delhi High Court had previously directed the Delhi government and Delhi Police to develop a comprehensive SOP for handling bomb threats. Authorities have been instructed to submit a detailed action plan by January 2024 to ensure swift responses to such incidents.
(With inputs from IANS)