Over 20 Delhi schools receive bomb threats; 30 this week
What's the story
Over 20 schools in Delhi received bomb threat emails on Friday, triggering panic and evacuation of students. This was the fourth consecutive day of such threats, with over 30 institutions targeted this week. The affected schools include St. Xaviers in Civil Lines, Richmond Global School in Paschim Vihar, Abhinav Public School in Rohini, and The Sovereign School in Rohini, among others.
Emergency response
Most threats found to be hoaxes
Upon receiving the threats, teams from the Delhi Police and fire department were deployed to conduct thorough search operations at the schools. Most of the threats were found to be hoaxes. On Wednesday alone, seven schools across Delhi received similar threat emails. On Tuesday, St Stephen's College and St Thomas School also received bomb threat emails. The email sent to St Stephen's College claimed that four IEDs and two packets of RDX would detonate by 2:00pm.
Past occurrences
12-year-old boy traced in St Stephen's College case
Investigators traced a 12-year-old boy from south Delhi for sending one of these threats. "The boy, a student of a private school, used his personal mobile phone to send the hoax email. He was questioned, counselled, and sent home. He told us it was a prank and he's undergoing treatment for a mental health condition," an officer said.
Political reaction
Atishi slams BJP
Reacting to the threats received by schools on Friday, Former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi slammed the new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government for failing to ensure safety in schools. "More than 20 schools have received bomb threats today! Think of the trauma that children, parents and teachers would be going through," she tweeted. Atishi also questioned why the BJP, which controls all four engines of governance in Delhi, couldn't provide safety or security to children.