Students, parents, and school administrators became alarmed on Friday after anonymous emails containing bomb threats were received by over fifteen schools in Bengaluru. Seven schools, including Vidyashilpa and Napel in Basaveshwar Nagar, were the targets of the first wave of threats. DK Shivakumar, the deputy chief minister of Karnataka, lives across from one of the endangered schools.
“I was watching TV, the school opposite to my house also got a threat mail. I came here to check,” DK Shivakumar told reporters.
“Till now it seems like a threat call. But we have to be very cautious about it,” he added.
Soon after, emails containing similar threats were sent to a number of additional educational institutions. For their safety, Bengaluru Police evacuated the faculty and students from the schools.
With the assistance of Bomb Disposal Squads, police are thoroughly searching the premises despite indications that the bomb threats may be fake. As of yet, none of the schools’ reported bomb threats have been verified. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Bengaluru Police Commissioner stated, “This morning, emails indicating a ‘bomb threat’ were received by certain schools in Bengaluru city.” Bomb detection and anti-sabotage teams have been called upon to confirm and investigate. The calls appear to be fraudulent. We’ll make every effort to find the offenders even then.”