Bengaluru police are conducting searches in at least six schools after they received a bomb threat on Friday morning. City Police and Bomb Detection and Disposal Squads have evacuated these schools and combing operations are underway. Police, who have cleared two schools so far, said the threat prima facie appears to be a hoax.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Bengaluru East) Subramanyeshwara Rao said six schools – Delhi Public School in Sulakunte, Gopalan International School in Mahadevapura, New Academy School in Marathahalli, Ebenezer International School in Electronic City, St Vincent Pallotti School in Hennur, and Indian Public School in Govindapura – have received the emails.
The emails arrived between 11 am and 11.10 am, said the officer and the origin is suspected to be the United States. “The email is mostly a hoax threat. But we are taking it seriously and not leaving anything to chance,” said Rao.
An officer in the know of the developments said that the contents of the email read: “A very powerful bomb has been planted in your school, attention is not a joke, this is not a joke, a very powerful bomb has been planted in your school, immediately call the police and sappers, hundreds of lives may suffer, including yours, do not delay, now everything is only in your hands! [sic].”
The officer added examinations were underway at some of the schools.Police have evacuated all schools and parents have been asked to pick up their children. Senior officers said a case will be filed after the search operations are over. Meanwhile, a probe into the origin of the email is also underway.
