At least 28 schools across Ahmedabad and Vadodara in Gujarat received bomb threat emails on Monday, prompting immediate evacuations of the campuses, according to officials.
Search operations were conducted straight away, although authorities confirmed that nothing suspicious has been found so far.
Rohit Chaudhary, the District Education Officer, reported that more than 15 schools in Ahmedabad received the threats. "All schools were instructed to immediately inform local police stations and adhere to security protocols," he told the media.
Vadodara Police Commissioner Narasimha Komar said that 13 schools in different areas of the city received similar emails. School managements alerted the police control room, after which local police, the Special Operations Group (SOG), the Crime Branch, and Bomb Detection and Disposal Squads (BDDS) began sanitising the sites and evacuating students and staff.
"Sanitisation of nine schools has been completed, with work ongoing at the remaining locations. A case has been registered by the cybercrime police. A detailed investigation is underway to identify the sender and the source of the emails, and to foil their attempts," Komar said. He added that, prima facie, the emails appear to be a hoax, but police are treating them with the utmost seriousness.
Vadodara's Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), Himanshu Verma, confirmed that nothing suspicious was found, and students were sent home for the day.
Institutions targeted included DAV International School, Asia School, Ankur International School, and Sant Kabir School in Ahmedabad, as well as D R Amin School, Urmi School, Baroda High School, and Don Bosco in Vadodara.
This incident follows a similar scare on 23 January, when several schools in Ahmedabad received bomb threats that subsequently turned out to be false.
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