The national capital went into panic as several prominent educational institutions including Sardar Patel Vidyalaya received worrying bomb threat emails. This brought emergency response from local law enforcement and administration and school management rushed to secure the campuses and protect students and staff. School management immediately began safe evacuation and moved children out of classrooms and to safe, open areas as a precautionary measure and security teams combed the emails to gauge the nature of the threat and what might happen.
As soon as the threat was announced, the Delhi Police brought in specialist units like bomb disposal units, dog squads, local police and fire service personnel to search for items. Authorities searched the administrative blocks, classrooms, playgrounds and common areas. After searching on campuses, officials found no suspicious things like bombs or explosive devices. Initial evidence indicates that the messages are part of a bigger conspiracy of hoax threats that would disrupt people’s lives and create unnecessary public panic, the agencies said.
It is part of a long-standing and worrying trend of security scares that have hit schools, colleges, hospitals and public infrastructure in the Delhi-National Capital Region over the past few months. Cyber cells and special investigation units such as Delhi Police Special Cell have intensified technical monitoring to discover a sender’s digital footprint; trace proxy servers or anonymous accounts used; and bring the offending person to justice. Parents, students and school leaders are being advised to remain calm and not to panic and not to believe in unverified rumors on social media. The authorities are monitoring the situation very closely and security is in place in all educational zones to deal with any potential events in a timely way.
