New Delhi: Panic gripped parents and students after 44 private schools in the city received bomb threats via email on Monday morning. The email, sent at 11.38pm Sunday, was discovered by school administrators when institutions opened for classes the following day. The threat was declared a hoax.
The anonymous sender demanded $30,000 (Rs 25.4 lakh), claiming several explosive devices were planted within school premises.
“I planted multiple bombs inside the building. They are small and well-hidden. It will not cause much damage to the building, but many people will be injured when the bombs detonate. If I do not receive $30,000, I will detonate the bombs,” the email stated.
A search operation was launched, with Delhi Police’s bomb disposal squads and dog units conducting thorough sweeps at the schools. Fire tenders and ambulances remained on standby. Sniffer dogs searched classrooms and open areas, while bomb squads scanned for potential explosive devices. Local police managed crowds of worried parents.
School administrators took immediate action when they received the threats, with many institutions sending students home and requesting parents to collect their wards as a precautionary measure.
Anshu Mital, principal of MRG School in Rohini Sector 3, said, “We learned about the threat through a news flash. The message was found in our spam folder at 8.05am, by which time students had already entered the school. We had to ensure a calm evacuation while alerting police and disaster response teams, who responded swiftly.”
Mital said the recent blast in Prashant Vihar had also heightened concerns: “We have intensified our evacuation drills from monthly to fortnightly. Teachers, children and staff members must know how to respond in such situations.”
Several parents expressed their anxiety. Lata Manral, whose son is a class VI student in Paschim Vihar, said, “I received the school’s message while returning home after drop-off. My husband immediately went to pick up our son. The school’s distance from our home added to our worry – had something serious happened, we would have been in a difficult position.”
Naushal Ahmed, whose son attends Doon Public School in Paschim Vihar, said, “My son takes the metro to school. When we received alerts, we were worried, especially after the Prashant Vihar incident. These threats have become a constant source of anxiety for parents.” Many parents reported chaos outside the schools as crowds gathered to collect their children.
Additional CP (PRO) Sanjay Kumar Tyagi said, “Police responded immediately to the threats. Our preliminary probe found nothing suspicious, but we continue to investigate.”
Ram Nivas Jindal, chairman, Sovereign School, Rohini Sector 24, stressed on maintaining normalcy: “We conducted a safe evacuation and assembled students in the grounds. Once officials confirmed no threat, we resumed classes rather than sending students home. We reassured the parents and maintained regular operations.”
