HC asks cops to explain school kids' evacuation steps following bomb threats

The Delhi High Court (HC) on Monday asked the city police to give details of the steps taken to ensure the safe evacuation of school children in case of a bomb threat with the least dependency on parents and without causing any panic.

The HC directed the Delhi Police and the Delhi government to file affidavits giving data on the number of schools in each zone, the nodal authority in each zone which will be responsible for taking action in case of receipt of a threat, the time required for taking action on receipt of a bomb threat, and the number of mock drills that have been conducted under the supervision of police and other departments.

Justice Subramonium Prasad said though police have filed a status report listing the standard operating procedure (SOP) for bomb detection and disposal squads and the guidelines to deal with bomb threats in schools, they have not submitted data on several key aspects.

The affidavits, to be filed by the city police and the government, shall include "the dependence on parents, who would be working at far away places, for evacuating children from the schools since the primary responsibility for evacuating will be on the schools and on the authorities".

The court said the affidavits, to be filed within 10 days, must also have information about various relevant circulars issued by the Delhi government from time to time.