Panic in Amritsar as multiple schools get bomb threat, parents called to take away their kids

Panic gripped Amritsar on Friday morning as several private schools recieved bomb threats via email. Heads and principals of several prominent private schools received the email, which had a similar pattern of threat, stating that bombs had been planted in schools.

Wasting no time, managements of these schools evacuated their campuses. They called or messaged children’s parents, asking them to take their wards away.

Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said some schools across the city and the rural belt in the vicinity had received suspicious emails. He said that a Gazetted Officer had been deployed at each school and anti-sabotage checks were under way. Bhullar said the Cyber Police Station was tracking the source of the mail.

Meanwhile, a noted private school’s head told The Tribune that they had received the threat on their school’s official email ID, which was reported by their institute's director. "As soon as we received the email, our immediate response was to ensure the safety of our students. We sent a message to parents stating that the school had been closed for the day. Even if it turns out to be a hoax, we do not want to take any chance in the wake of the recent Delhi blast."

Another prominent school called the police after which a bomb squad was sent that checked the entire premises.

Parents were a harried lot. "As soon as I got the message, I rushed to the school to pick up my child. After the recent hostilities and attacks in Pahalgam and Delhi, it is scary to experience something like this," said Anuradha Khanna, mother of a Class VIII student studying in a private school near Manawala.

Deputy Commissioner Dalwinder Singh has convened an emergency meeting. District Education Officer Rajesh Sharma said, "Our officials are in a meeting with the schools heads. We are looking into all possibilities and cooperating with the police. I visited the schools immediately after I was informed."