New Delhi: Panic returned to parts of Delhi on Wednesday as St. Stephen’s College and five schools received bomb threats via email, part of a weeklong series of over 15 such alerts targeting educational institutions across the city. The threats sparked a massive response from police and bomb disposal units, though no explosives were found.
At St. Stephen’s College, an email received around 7:15 AM warned that four improvised explosive devices and two packets of RDX had been planted across the campus and in the library, with a detonation time set for 2:00 PM. Security teams, including personnel from Maurice Nagar police station, the Bomb Disposal Squad, dog squads, and crime investigation units, cordoned off the college and conducted an extensive search, which turned up no suspicious items.
5 other Delhi schools receive similar threats via emails
Elsewhere in the city, five schools including, St. Thomas School in Dwarka, Vasant Valley School in Vasant Kunj, Mother’s International School in Hauz Khas, Richmond Global School in Paschim Vihar, and Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in Lodi Estate, also received similar threat emails earlier in the day. All five institutions were promptly evacuated, with students and staff escorted to safety as precautionary checks were carried out.
Over 10 such incidents reported in last 3 days
These incidents follow a string of similar threats earlier in the week, with at least ten schools targeted in the past three days. While all the messages have so far proved to be hoaxes, they have severely disrupted academic schedules, caused widespread alarm among families, and led to a noticeable uptick in police presence around school campuses.
The Delhi Police are continuing to investigate the source of the emails and the motive behind the spate of threats. Cybercrime teams have been brought in to assist in tracking down those responsible.