Over 40 Delhi schools get bomb threat; Centre’s failure, says Atishi

Delhi schools receive hoax bomb threats, causing panic among parents, students, and authorities; no suspicious objects found.

More than 40 schools in Delhi received an email on Monday morning threatening to blow up their premises, prompting the deployment of local police and fire services personnel with bomb detection squads and dog units across the city.

The threat turned out to be a hoax as no suspicious object was found in the inspections, said the police. Most of the schools suspended classes for the day and sent students back home.

A similar hoax email was sent to over 200 schools in the Capital and Noida in May. However, the case is yet to be solved. Since then, several more schools, including a few in Rohini and Dwarka, have been issued similar threats, apart from hundreds of hospitals, malls, and public transport hubs in the city. A parents’ association member in Delhi said there was much less panic among them on Monday owing to the frequency of such incidents.

A senior officer said the sender had placed a demand for $30,000 in the email, which was sent at 11.38 p.m. on Sunday to some of the national capital’s most prominent schools, including Delhi Public School in R.K. Puram, G.D. Goenka Public School in Paschim Vihar, The British School in Chanakyapuri, The Mother’s International School on Aurobindo Marg, and Modern School in Mandi House.

Chief Minister Atishi said the Centre has “failed” in its only responsibility to ensure the safety of the Capital’s residents. Delhi Police reports to the Union Home Ministry.

“After the schools informed us about the emails, we conducted a thorough check of the premises. However, nothing suspicious was found,” said DCP (South West) Surender Chaudhary. Four schools in his district received the threat.

The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said it received the first alert from G.D. Goenka Public School at 6.15 a.m., followed by a call from Delhi Public School at 7.06 a.m.