CHANDIGARH: Panic gripped students and parents in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, on Wednesday after several private schools allegedly received emails threatening to blow up their premises. The threats, however, later turned out to be hoaxes.
Sources said a number of prominent private schools allegedly received bomb threat emails claiming that explosives had been placed inside the school buildings. As the news broke, frantic parents called the schools to enquire about the safety of their children and rushed to pick them up. In some institutions, students were shifted to safe locations.
Taking prompt action, bomb disposal squads along with local police teams reached the schools and conducted extensive searches. However, no explosives were found, and classes resumed later in the day.
Sources said efforts are now underway to trace the IP address of the email sender. Police are also coordinating with their counterparts in other states that allegedly received similar threats. “The situation is under control,” said a police official.
Earlier, similar threat emails had allegedly been sent to the Himachal Pradesh High Court, several sessions courts, the offices of deputy commissioners, the chief secretary, and the Himachal Pradesh Secretariat.
The threats reportedly came via email, consistent with a broader pattern observed nationwide, where multiple judicial complexes across India have allegedly received similar threatening messages.