Vivek High, other Chandigarh schools receive bomb threat emails

Schools in Chandigarh received bomb threat emails on Tuesday morning, prompting police and security agencies to launch an extensive search operation, officials said.

No explosive device or suspicious object was found during the searches, they said.

Among the schools that received the threats were Vivek High School in Sector 38. According to reports by PTI, the other schools included Carmel Convent School in Sector 9-B, St John’s High School and Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School in Sector 26, and St Stephen’s School in Sector 45-B.

The emails claimed that bombs had been planted at the school premises.

Following the receipt of the threats, school authorities informed the police and evacuated students and staff as a precautionary measure. Teams of the Chandigarh Police, bomb detection and disposal personnel and sniffer dog squads reached the schools and conducted thorough searches of the campuses.

“Students who came accompanying their parents have been sent back home, while others have been moved to a safe location outside the building. They will be allowed to re-enter once the building is declared safe by the security agencies,” said an official.

The latest threat comes amid a series of bomb threat emails received by schools and other prominent institutions in the region in recent months, prompting security agencies to remain on alert ahead of the Independence Day celebrations.

“The email was received on Tuesday morning and the police was informed. Considering the vigil needed for ensuring a smooth Independence Day celebration, the police are taking every emergency call seriously,” a police officer said.

In the past, threat emails have also been received by schools, the Punjab and Haryana High court, the Mayor’s office and other important offices.

Police have launched a technical investigation to trace the source of the threat emails and identify those responsible.

The incident prompted heightened security measures in and around the schools that received the threats.