Nearly 100 schools in Delhi and at least two schools in Noida received a bomb threat via email on Wednesday morning, prompting mass evacuations. As panicked parents crowded outside the schools, the Ministry of Home Affairs said the emails appeared to be a hoax.
Delhi Police also said it had conducted a thorough check of all schools that received the bomb threat and found nothing. Ravinder Yadav, Special CP, Delhi Police (Crime), said some hospitals also received similar emails on Tuesday.
Bomb detection teams, bomb disposal squads and personnel from Delhi Fire Service were rushed to schools as police started receiving calls by the dozen about the bomb threat.
Delhi Public School's (DPS) Dwarka and Vasant Kunj units, Mother Marry School in East Mayur Vihar, Sanskriti School, Amity School in Pushp Vihar and DAV School in South West Delhi were among the 100 schools that received the threat. In Noida, DPS and Apeejay School also received similar threats.
The school premises were evacuated, and the students were sent home immediately after the threat was received, sources told media.
In a statement, the principal of DPS Noida said, "Delhi Public School, Noida, has received an email that threatens the safety and security of the students. As a precautionary measure, we are sending the students back home immediately".
In a conversation with Jaano Junction, Richa Sharma, the principle of Ramjas International School ,RK Puram Delhi, said,
'There was an email that came around 3:16am. The school stumbled upon it around 8:16 in the morning and got to know that there is a threat to the school regarding the bomb implant.'
We immediately informed the nearest police station, evacuated the building and assembled the students in the ground as per our Disaster Management Program. There was a great support from the local police who immediately rushed to the school to address the situation and ensured that everything is safe and sound. No bomb is reported to have been found in the school premises. Within half an hours time, the parents came and take their children home safely. The parents were cooperative throughout. Their reaction was very positive. Although there was a little panic among the parents of toddlers but all the children dispersed safely, and so did the panic.
Preliminary investigation suggested that the IP address used to send the emails was from Russia, sources said. Delhi Police suspected that the IP address could be masked through a VPN.
"The server of the IP address used to send the emails is located abroad. Russian language has been detected in the IP address," sources said.
An investigation is underway in connection with the matter.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, in a statement, said the emails appeared to be a hoax and there was no need to panic.
"There is no need to panic. The emails appear to be hoaxes. Delhi Police and security agencies are taking the necessary steps as per protocol," the statement said.
Delhi Police also said it had conducted a thorough check of all schools and said the emails were sent to create panic.
"Delhi Police has conducted a thorough check of all such schools as per protocol. Nothing objectionable has been found. It appears that these calls seem to be hoaxes," the Delhi Police PRO said.
Lieutenant Governor of Delhi VK Saxena said he directed the Delhi Police to identify the culprits at the earliest.
"Spoke to the Police Commissioner and sought a detailed report into the bomb threats at schools in Delhi-NCR. Directed Delhi Police to carry out a thorough search in school premises, identify the culprits and ensure there are no lapses," Lieutenant Governor of Delhi said in a post on X.
"I request parents not to panic and co-operate with the administration in ensuring the safety of schools and children. The miscreants & culprits will not be spared," he added.
Earlier in February this year, Delhi Public School, RK Puram, received a bomb threat call. A search operation by the police did not reveal anything suspicious.
