Bomb threat at 50 Delhi & Noida schools; vast evacuations underway

The Delhi-NCR region was thrown into a state of panic as more than 50 schools in Delhi and Noida received bomb threats on Wednesday morning. Among the targeted schools were Mother Mary School in Mayur Vihar, Delhi Public School (DPS) in Dwarka, Sanskriti School in Chanakyapuri, DPS in Vasant Kunj, Amity School in Saket and DAV School in South West Delhi, all of which received bomb threats via email.

"We got information that the same email was sent to several schools at around 4:15 am. We took action and made the decision to close the schools and send the students back home. Checking is underway at all the schools and our technical wing is investigating the email. Through the initial investigation, it seems that this is a mass email. I want to request the students and parents to remain calm and not to panic. We are getting each and every school checked and are in contact with the school administration,” states, DCP, South West Rohit Meena.

Following the receipt of these threats, school premises were swiftly evacuated, and students were promptly sent home. This incident follows a similar pattern from Monday, where multiple schools across Delhi-NCR received email warnings about potential bombs on their premises, with approximately 100 schools reportedly targeted. As a result, police launched search operations in response to the alerts.

In the preliminary investigation, the police have reported that the threatening emails have been sent to multiple locations since yesterday. The Delhi Police mentioned that the absence of a date line and the inclusion of BCC in the email indicated that a single email had been sent to multiple locations. They also stated that an investigation was currently underway regarding the bomb threats received by schools. The origin of the threatening emails, suspected to be from outside India and possibly masked via a VPN, is under investigation.

The bomb threat to DPS Dwarka was received at 6 am, prompting the immediate deployment of Delhi Police personnel, fire brigades, and the bomb disposal squad. Despite thorough searches at DPS Dwarka and other schools like Mother Mary School, Sanskriti School, Amity School, and DPS Noida, no suspicious items were discovered, according to police officials.

The Principal of DPS Noida issued a statement emphasising the priority of student safety and the precautionary measures taken by sending students home immediately upon receiving the threat. Earlier in February, a similar incident occurred at Delhi Public School, RK Puram, where a bomb threat call was received, prompting a search operation by the police that yielded no suspicious findings.

Previously, a concerning email allegedly sent by a group known as Terrorizers 111 sparked a nationwide security scare, leading to increased vigilance at 24 airports and terminals throughout the country.