New Delhi: There was a major scare in more than 100 schools across Delhi and its satellite townships as e-mails were received by the school administrations about the presence of bombs on their premises.
For a few hours, there was panic all around as police teams rushed to check the school premises and parents rushed to pick up their wards. The security checks at the schools did not reveal any explosives. The Ministry of Home Affairs later termed the bomb emails a "hoax" and said they had originated abroad.
The emails were received by the schools in Delhi, Ghaziabad, Noida, and Greater Noida just as they opened this morning. As a school administrator in Noida said, "We immediately informed the police which asked us to vacate the premises." Subsequently, the school authorities began calling the parents and sending them SMS messages to pick up their children. Some of the parents, who had by now heard of the news on television, also began rushing to the schools.
In the meantime, the police teams reached various schools and began their search operations. Among the schools that had received the threat were premium institutions of Delhi such as Sanskriti School Chanakyapuri, DPS R.K. Puram, Mother Mary School at Mayur Vihar, and Amity International School in Saket. In Noida, Cambridge School and DPS also received bomb threats.
Confirmation Of Distress Calls By Delhi Fire Service Chief
Delhi Fire Service chief Atul Garg confirmed that distress calls were received from around 60 schools in Delhi alone about the bomb threat.
"These calls were received at our fire control room," he said, adding that fire tenders and staff were rushed and they checked the premises along with the police. Garg said the first call from a school was received at around 8 a.m. and he immediately alerted all stations.
"Sawariim" & Its Connection To Delhi Bomb Scare Case
The MHA said that the bomb threat appeared to have originated abroad. The threat was sent via an e-mail ID which read sawariim@mail.ru, indicating that it emanated from Russia.
"Sawariim" happens to be an Arabic word which means clashing of the swords and this id has also been used in the past by the Islamic State to spread its agenda.
Commissioner of Delhi Police Sanjay Arora later described the incident as an act of terror and stated that the police followed the protocol and took no chances as they carried out the searches. The Delhi police have handed over the investigation to its Special Cell.
