50 schools in Bengaluru receive bomb threat, turns out to be hoax

Bengaluru: Nearly 50 schools in Bengaluru on Friday morning received a bomb threat, which turned out to be a hoax, according to the police. A single identical email with the subject 'Bombs inside the school' was sent to nearly 50 email IDs of various schools at 7.24 am by a user, roadkill333@ atomicmail.io.

The sender claimed to have placed several explosive devices within the classrooms of the respective schools, the police said. "Hello. I am writing to let you know that I have placed several explosive devices (Trinitrotoluene) within school classrooms. The explosives are skilfully hidden in black plastic bags," the email stated.

The authorities of a number of schools alert ed the police, who rushed to the institutions with bomb disposal squads and anti-sabotage check teams. The students and staff were cautioned, and necessary safety arrange ments were made on the premises of the institutions. But no suspicious objects were found during the search, they said.

"At least four schools in the Central division (Bengaluru police) limits received a bomb threat email this morning, triggering panic. All necessary measures were taken as per protocol. Nothing suspicious was found, and it turned out to be a hoax email," a senior police officer said. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told reporters in Mysuru, "I got to know about it (bomb threats to schools), I have asked officials to check whether it is a hoax bomb threat."

Parents expressed anxiety and concern over the hoax bomb scare that affected over 40 schools in Bengaluru and several in Delhi as well. “We were worried until our daughter reached home. She was not aware of the gravity of the situation," said Abinaya (name changed), mother of the student of an affected school incentral Bengaluru.

Another parent, Gregory (name changed) said, "Such hoax bomb scares have been happening in the last six months and each time the schools and the police hit a panic button. Such threats create an environment of fear for students, parents and the school at large.”

Parents said that the bomb threats disturbed their mental peace each time they rushed in panic to gather at the school gate. The Parent Teacher As sociation (PTA) president of a school said, “Thankfully, all such bomb threats have turned out to be hoaxes so far. This could, however, cause terrible trauma and disturbances to students and school staff.”

According to teachers, the schools have counselled their students and asked them to stay calm and vigilant. The management of schools that are on high alert after receiving the email have made comprehensive security mea sures.  Some parents have opined that such threats are dangerous, and the school authorities need to implement stringent measures to check school visitors via scanners by making ID cards mandatory for them and installing more CCTV cameras.

Schools need to identify vulnerable spots on their campuses and train security personnel to be alert, said parents. “Such threat messages have to be verified and investigated thoroughly by officials,” said a parent.