At least 100 schools in the Delhi NCR area received bomb threats through e-mails today, leading to chaos and widespread alarm, but “nothing objectionable” was found, officials said, requesting people not to panic.
The schools were evacuated after local police were informed about the threat e-mails.
According to Delhi Fire Service (DFS), at least 97 calls from different schools were received till noon on Wednesday. All the calls were being attended diligently, an officer said.
Multiple private schools in Noida and Greater Noida also received the bomb threat.
The Ministry of Home Affairs said that this appeared to be a hoax threat and that there was no need to panic.
Delhi Police said that they had conducted a thorough check of all schools that received the bomb threat but found nothing.
“Some schools of Delhi received e-mails regarding bomb threats. Delhi Police [have] conducted thorough check of all such schools as per protocol,” said Delhi Police in a post on X.
“Nothing objectionable has been found. It appears that these calls seem to be [a] hoax. We request the public not to panic and maintain peace,” said the force.
According to Delhi Police officials, the e-mail was suspected to have been sent from one source to schools in Delhi and adjoining Noida and Greater Noida. Sources said that the content of the e-mails sent to every school was the same.
Noida Police said that all the schools that received the e-mails were “thoroughly checked”.
In a statement today, Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Shivhari Meena said, “This morning, a threatening e-mail was received by a chain of schools, after which police teams responded to the situation immediately.
“All such schools that received the threats were thoroughly checked and sanitised. At no place, any such thing (threat) has come to light and it is proved that the e-mail was sent to trigger a rumour.”
Reacting to the development, Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena wrote on X that he spoke to the police commissioner and sought a detailed report on the bomb threats at schools in Delhi NCR.
“Directed Delhi Police to carry out a thorough search [of] school premises, identify the culprits and ensure there are no lapses,” said the LG, requesting parents not to panic and co-operate with the administration in ensuring safety of schools and children.
“The miscreants and culprits will not be spared,” added Saxena.
Delhi Education Minister Atishi also requested parents not to panic and wrote on X: “Some schools have received bomb threats this morning. Students have been evacuated and those premises are being searched by Delhi Police. So far nothing has been found in any of the schools.
“We are in constant touch with the police and the schools. Would request parents and citizens not to panic. School authorities will be in touch with parents wherever needed.”
Visuals from Mother Mary’s School, Mayur Vihar Phase 1, East Delhi, showed concerned parents assembling outside the school to pick up their children. The school administration was seen making announcements on the microphone, while parents rushed to collect their wards.
“I dropped my child [at the school] 10-15 minutes ago. Then I received a call from the school to take my child back due to some emergency,” said Vijay Kumar, a parent.
“I had come to drop my children. I saw a lot of people had gathered here and there were shouts of people coming from inside the school. When we inquired, we didn’t get any satisfactory response,” said Manoj Kumar, a local resident and parent of a student studying in the school.
Similar things were seen outside Sanskriti School, Chanakyapuri, South Delhi.
Fire tenders, ambulances and lines of police vehicles were seen on standby outside many schools, while bomb detection teams and bomb disposal squads were conducting searches inside the schools.
Kirti, another parent, said that she had dropped her son at BGS International School, Dwarka, West Delhi, and was waiting for him to go inside when she saw her son return with school staff members.
“As usual, I was waiting outside the school when I saw my son returning, along with all the staff members. I was very worried… When some people shouted that there was a bomb [at the] school, I immediately asked my son to sit on my scooter,” she said.
Several schools called and sent messages to parents to urgently pick up their wards.
Even schools that did not receive bomb threats were also flooded with queries by parents and guardians who were worried about their wards’ safety.
Police beef up security at Delhi Metro and railway stations, bus stands, markets
Overall, security was tightened in Delhi and Noida as a precautionary measure.
Security was beefed up in several parts of the National Capital Region after the bomb threat. Police said in the afternoon that so far all bomb threats were found to be a hoax, but nonetheless, they had stepped up security at all Delhi Metro and railway stations, bus stands, and markets.
“We have stepped up security at every station. We have also alerted our staff to keep [a] strict vigil on any suspicious activity,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Railways) KPS Malhotra to PTI.
A senior security officer said, “A general advisory has been issued in the Delhi Metro network and CISF personnel have been asked to remain extra vigilant.”
Another officer said that additional police forces, along with paramilitary units, had been deployed in several parts of Delhi, and barricades had been installed at city borders.