Wave of bomb threats hits Delhi-NCR schools; origin on Russian server, police probe terror link

Threat declared a hoax as 'nothing objectionable' found

- NARESH BISWANI

On Wednesday, a wave of bomb threats swept through over 130 schools across the DelhiNCR region, triggering swift responses from educational institutions and law enforcement agencies. The threats, conveyed through an email originating from a Russian server, plunged schools into a state of emergency, prompting varied precautionary measures to ensure the safety of students.

According to officials, the Delhi Police received 131 calls reporting threats from schools within the Capital. However, exhaustive searches conducted by police teams and bomb squads yielded no evidence of suspicious items in any of the targeted schools.

Officials disclosed that the Delhi Police's anti-terror unit has launched an investigation into the bomb threat emails, suspecting a possible connection to a larger conspiracy during the  ongoing Lok Sabha elections. A case has been registered by the Special Cell under relevant sections of the law, including those related to conspiracy and threat, with a specialised team assigned to conduct the probe.

According to the police officer, the email ID from which the threat was sent is ‘sawariim@mail. ru’. Sawarim is an Arabic word extensively used by the terror outfit Islamic State (IS) in their propaganda videos over the past several years, the official said.