New Delhi, India
More than 40 schools in India's national capital Delhi received bomb threats through e-mails on Monday morning (Dec 9). The schools which received the bomb threat included Delhi Public School located in RK Puram and GD Goenka School in Paschim Vihar in the early morning hours, as per news agency ANI.
According to Delhi Police, the email read, "I planted multiple bombs inside (school) buildings. The bombs are small and hidden very well. It will not cause much damage to the building, but many people will be injured when the bombs detonate. If I do not receive $30,000 I will detonate the bombs."
The email was sent to school authorities on Sunday night (Dec 8) at 11:38 pm local time.
The IP address of the sender is being investigated by the police.
#WATCH | Delhi | Visuals from outside of DPS RK Puram - one of the two schools that receive bomb threats, via e-mail, today morning pic.twitter.com/sQMOPh4opI
— ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2024
The students were sent back to their homes by the school administration and police were informed about the incident, confirmed Delhi Police.
#WATCH | A team of Delhi police arrives at RK Puram's DPS - one of the two schools that received bomb threats, via e-mail, this morning pic.twitter.com/c23ciJTLGi
— ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2024
#WATCH | Delhi | Visuals from outside of GD Goenka Public school, Paschim Vihar - one of the two schools that received bomb threats, via e-mail, today morning pic.twitter.com/XoIBJoVsVt
— ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2024
The threats were revealed at peak hour in schools when buses were arriving, children were being dropped off by their parents and staff busy preparing for the morning assembly.
The schools informed the Delhi Fire Department of the threats at around 7 am local time.
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Hoax bomb threats across country
Bomb threats have been taking place in education institutions and airlines through much of this year in India, most of which turned out to be hoaxes.
In October, an explosion took place outside the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) school in the Prashant Vihar area of Rohini in Delhi. The wall of the school, vehicles and nearby shops were damaged.
On October 21, a bomb blast threat was sent to all CRPF schools through an email.
Watch: Hoax Bomb Threats Impact Several Indian Flights
On November 19, the Delhi High Court asked the state government and Delhi police to create a comprehensive action plan which included an extensive Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for dealing with bomb threats as well as other such emergencies.
An eight-week deadline was set by the court for the completion of the plan. In the SOP, the officials were instructed to define the roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders which included police, municipal authorities, school administration and other law enforcement agencies.
(With inputs from agencies)