Over 25 Schools In Chandigarh Receive Bomb Threat Emails; All evacuated
Chandigarh : As many as 26 schools in Chandigarh received bomb threat emails on Wednesday, prompting the evacuation of students and police officials carrying out anti-sabotage checks. Chandigarh Senior Police Inspector Kanwardeep Kaur said that anti-sabotage checks have been carried out in 10 schools so far, nothing suspicious has been found and similar checks are continuing in the remaining schools.
Following a series of bomb threat emails, the Chandigarh administration advised people to remain calm and not panic.
They said that after school officials informed the police about the bomb threat emails on Wednesday morning, officers reached the school premises and conducted extensive searches of the educational institutions.
Many government and private schools in sectors 25, 19, 45, 16 and other areas received the threatening emails. Authorities said that students and staff were evacuated and added that security around the schools was increased.
They said students who attended schools were sent back to their homes.
School officials told police they received bomb threat emails Wednesday morning and then notified police. Bomb disposal and search dog teams were dispatched to the area to search the school building.
Speaking to reporters, SSP Kaur said they received calls from 26 schools regarding bomb threat emails. He said that upon receiving information from control room number 112, local police teams, fire brigade, ambulance and bomb disposal teams intervened in the incident.
He said the emails were received from a Gmail account and the cyber team of Chandigarh Police was examining it. Answering a question, he said the email was sent to schools.
The SSP said an FIR has been registered in the matter at Sector 17 police station.
SSP said schools that did not receive bomb threat emails were open.
He called on citizens to call the 112 emergency helpline if they receive threatening calls.
Chandigarh authorities advised all schools to remain calm and not create unnecessary panic. “If any threatening emails or messages are received, this should be reported immediately to the police so that appropriate measures can be taken in accordance with established protocol,” an official statement said.
Additionally, schools have been advised not to declare holidays without any verification as such actions could lead to avoidable panic among students, parents and the public.
Meanwhile, Chandigarh Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav said parents and citizens have been asked to remain calm regarding bomb threat emails received by some schools in Chandigarh.
The incident comes on the heels of similar incidents in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala in Punjab and Ambala in Haryana, where some schools faced similar threats that were later revealed to be fraudulent.
