Since May this year, more than 50 bomb threat emails have targeted not only schools but hospitals, airports and airline companies in Delhi.
In the ongoing investigation into bomb threats sent to several schools in Delhi, police have discovered that at least three schools received threatening emails from their own students, who wanted to postpone exams due to lack of preparation or intended to have the schools shut down.
One of the schools that received a bomb threat was Venkateshwar Global School. The threatening email was sent a day after a mysterious blast occurred at the Rohini Prashant Vihar PVR Multiplex on November 28. A police officer, quoted by news agency PTI, said two siblings enrolled in the school sent the email because they wanted the exams to be postponed. Police conducted a thorough check of the school after the email was reported and declared the threat a hoax.
During counselling, the siblings revealed that they got the idea from previous incidents of bomb threats being made to schools, the officer added. They were allowed to go after their parents were given a warning.
Meanwhile, two more schools in Rohini and Paschim Vihar received similar threatening emails from students who wanted the schools to shut down. In these cases, the students were also counselled, and their parents were warned.
Bomb threats have been sent to over 100 Delhi schools, sparking panic, over the past 11 days. Police have found that the emails were sent through a VPN (Virtual Private Network), making it tough for them to locate the perpetrators.
Since May this year, more than 50 bomb threat emails have targeted not only schools but hospitals, airports and airline companies in Delhi. The hoax threats have not been limited to Delhi. Across the country, hospitals, malls, colleges, airlines, and airports have also received similar threats over the past year.
As of November 14, airlines and airports received 999 hoax bomb threats this year, nearly 10 times more than in 2023, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol informed Parliament. Over 500 of these threats were reported in the last two weeks of October, causing widespread disruption to flight schedules. Police are yet to make any breakthroughs in these cases.
(With agency inputs)