As many as 26 schools in Chandigarh received bomb threat emails on Wednesday, prompting immediate evacuation of students and staff and triggering extensive anti-sabotage checks by police and security agencies.
Chandigarh Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kanwardeep Kaur said anti-sabotage operations had been completed in 10 schools so far, with no suspicious material found. Similar checks were continuing in the remaining schools.
Following the receipt of threat emails on Wednesday morning, school authorities alerted the police, after which teams comprising local police, bomb disposal squads, sniffer dog units, fire brigades and ambulances were rushed to the affected campuses. Students and staff were evacuated as a precautionary measure, while students en route to schools were sent back home. Security was also heightened around the institutions.
The schools that received the threat emails include several government and private institutions located in sectors 25, 19, 45, 16 and other areas of the city.
Speaking to reporters, SSP Kaur said the threat emails were sent from a Gmail account and the Chandigarh Police cyber team is examining the source. “We received calls from 26 schools regarding bomb threat emails. An FIR has been registered at Sector 17 police station, and investigations are underway,” she said. She added that schools which did not receive threat emails remained open.
The SSP appealed to the public to remain calm and advised citizens to immediately dial the emergency helpline number 112 if they receive any threatening calls or messages.
In an official statement, the Chandigarh administration urged people not to panic and advised schools to strictly follow established protocols. “In case any threatening e-mail or message is received, it should be immediately reported to the police so that appropriate action can be taken,” the statement said.
The administration also cautioned schools against declaring holidays without verification, warning that such steps could lead to unnecessary panic among students, parents and the general public.
Chandigarh Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav also appealed to parents and citizens to remain calm, assuring them that the situation was under control.
The incident comes close on the heels of similar bomb threat emails sent to schools in parts of Punjab, including Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala, and in Ambala in Haryana, which later turned out to be hoaxes.
