6th threat this year; when will mischief, ordeal end: Parents

NEW DELHI: At least 30 schools across Delhi received hoax bomb threats on email in the early hours of Friday, leading to widespread chaos as parents scrambled to retrieve their children from school amid the morning rush, police said.

- Jignasa Sinha

Despite thorough searches by the Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Services (DFS), and bomb squads, no suspicious items were found, police said.

This is the second such incident this week - on Monday, over 44 schools received similar threats. Of the 30 schools targeted on Friday, 22 were repeats from Monday. Police suspect the count may rise as some schools were "yet to check" their email.

The threatening emails, sent at 12.54 a.m. from [e-mail], did not include any demands. On Monday, an unidentified accused had sent the threat from a Gmail ID demanding $30,000.

Police suspect the same sender or group was behind both incidents. Preliminary investigations suggest the server used could be located in China or the Netherlands, possibly via a VPN.

No headway has been achieved in either incident - the special cell lodged a case under sections of criminal intimidation and criminal conspiracy to identify the sender. In May this year, more than 250 schools received similar bomb threats on email, and that case, too, is yet to be solved.