Delhi schools receive threats via emails early Friday: Student didn’t want to take exam, sent bomb threat to a school, say police

“A minor student was located hours after it was found that he allegedly sent the email… He did not want to sit for his exams and thus sent the email… He was counselled by the counselor and allowed to leave,” said a senior officer.

On Friday, at least 30 other schools across Delhi also received emails containing bomb threats. The latest threats come close on the heels of at least 44 schools receiving similar emails on December 9. Police had declared those threats as hoaxes.

According to the Delhi Fire Services, the department on Friday first received a call regarding the emails from Bhatnagar International School in Paschim Vihar between 4.21 am and 4.23 am, followed by Cambridge School in Sriniwaspuri at 6.23 am, Delhi Public School Amar Colony in East of Kailash at 6.35 am, South Delhi Public School in Defence Colony at 7.57 am, Delhi Police Public School in Safdarjung Enclave at 8.02 am and Venkateshwar Public School in Rohini Sector 13 at 8.29 am.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Ravi Singh said, “Around 30 schools, including in our district, have received such emails.” According to the police, the email was sent from a masked Virtual private network (VPN), which was tracked to the US, Canada, Sweden and Netherlands.

A police source said the emails were received in the wee hours of Friday, with the sender mentioning “parent-teachers’ meeting” and “sports day” activities in the schools. The sender also mentioned that the “schools will face bomb blasts” on Friday and Saturday, the source added.
The fire department, police and bomb detection teams, along with dog squads, rushed to the schools and conducted searches. The schools later shifted to online teaching mode.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Cambridge School Principal Madhavi Goswami said, “We received the email at 1.50 am. I saw the message at 5.50 am and alerted the staff. Our team simultaneously informed the police and the parents to make sure that students do not leave for school… We informed the parents that classes will be held in online mode…”

Mothers International School Principal Milan Mala Sarin said, “This happened only days after Monday’s hoax threats. Such repeated disruptions affects functioning of schools and leads to a wastage of resources.”

South Delhi Public School sprung to action when the threat mail came to its notice. Karmveer, a guard at the school, said the staff was informed via message at 7.20 am, following which parents were asked to pick up their wards from the school. In May, more than 250 schools, hospitals and other installations had received similar email threats. The matter is yet to be solved.

How police deal with hoaxes

The police said that the crew probing such matters is split into two – the Bomb Detection Team (BDT) and the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS).

There are 18 teams in districts and five squads in each range. While each BDS has six to seven officers, the BDTs have five members. “It usually takes 30 to 45 minutes to check a building… but the time taken also depends upon the size of the building,” said an officer.

Speaking to The Indian Express, a member of BDS had said in May, “After the PCR gets the call, it is transferred to the control room of the district, which then alerts its respective bomb detection squads… The teams, which are always on standby, rush to the spot where the unidentified object or a bomb or IED has been found.”

The teams are equipped with machines such as a non-linear junction detector, which detects semiconductor junctions such as diodes, transistors, and circuit board connections. Following this, sniffer dogs and portable X-ray machines are used to find any explosives in the area. While the operation takes place, the area is cordoned off.

In the last eight months, schools, colleges, hospitals and the airport in Delhi have received numerous bomb threats that had eventually turned out to be hoaxes. “For every call, a standard operating procedure is followed by the police, fire services and bomb teams. Each and every call is looked into with utmost seriousness,” said Special CP (Crime Branch) Devesh Chandra Srivastava.