Hoax bomb threat e-mails trigger panic in Bhopal schools

However, no incriminating materials were found even after hours of searches by the state police.

Most of the schools that received the threatening e-mails come under the Central Board of Secondary Education, where Class 12 students were appearing for their final exams on Friday.

"Your school has two powerful bombs, immediately call the police... This is not a joke, I repeat, this not a joke. Hundreds of lives hang in the balance of death, act quickly as there is still time or else everything can end. Don't say that you were not warned. Now everything depends only on you," read the e-mail received by the school authorities.

Soon after receiving the e-mail, the authorities alerted the police and requested for an immediate search operation.

"We received nearly 50 threatening e-mails at regular intervals, saying that our school has two very powerful bombs. The final exam of class 12 students is underway in our school, so you are requested to kindly do the needful as soon as possible," a school principal wrote to the T.T. Nagar police station.

The police took immediate action and launched a search operation with bomb detection and disposal squads in the schools. However, no incriminating materials were found.

Later, Commissioner of Police, Makrand Deoskar, told the media that it was a fake bomb threat and nothing has been recovered during the search operations.

"The cyber police is trying to identify the person who sent the e-mails to the schools. Whoever is found involved in creating panic will be punished as per the law," Deoskar added.

This fake bomb threat was similar to the one received by several schools in Bengaluru in April.

Earlier this month, a man had allegedly made at least 50 calls on helpline numbers, including the women's helpline, threatening to blow up the Bhopal railway station, triggering panic. However, it turned out to be a hoax.

--IANS pd/khz/arm

( 353 Words)

2022-05-13-20:00:01 (IANS)