Times News NetworkChandigarh: Again, what should have been a routine school day, with several students appearing for board examinations, turned into a crisis situation as 21 private and govt schools in Chandigarh received bomb blast threats via e-mail. Punjab secretariat was also mentioned as a target.The e-mail warned of blasts in the next two days. In a playback of events set into motion by similar e-mails sent repeatedly over the past few weeks, police and other security agencies implemented standard protocols. School premises were evacuated as a precautionary measure, and some school managements sent messages to parents asking them to pick their children up from schools. Worried parents rushed to do so.Police teams, bomb disposal and dog squads, fire tenders and ambulances were deployed. Intensive search and sanitisation operations were carried out at all the affected schools. Yet again, no suspicious object was recovered from any school.Police said that based on investigation so far, the threat appeared to be a hoax. The cyber cell is trying to ascertain the identity of the sender. The administration said strict legal action would be taken against the culprits as soon as they were identified. The administration appealed to parents and the general public not to panic and to rely only on official information issued by the administration.About a month ago, around 30 schools in the city received similar threats via e-mails. No suspicious object was found at that time too. However, recurring threats have led to a sense of unease among parents and school management members. Police are investigating previous incidents to determine whether a single individual or a gang was behind the cases.Box: Schools which received the threat mail Private schools:Shivalik Public School Carmel Convent School Banyan Tree School Chitkara International School Kundan Public School AKSIPS-45 Vivek High School St. John School Gurukul, Manimajra Delhi Public School (DPS) 3BRD Air Force School Ankur Public School, Sector-14 Ashiana Public School DC Montessori SchoolGovt Schools:GMSSS-16 GMSSS-10 GMSSS-8 GMHS, Daddumajra GMSSS-21 GMHS-41 GMHS-48 MSID:: 128851876 413 |
