Hoax bomb threat emails send alarm bells ringing, Ludhiana educators push for speedy probe

The alleged bomb threat emails sent to 10 private schools on Tuesday have sent alarm bells ringing among educators, who are now pushing for a speedy probe into the matter.

Panic gripped the schools after the threats that were later declared hoax. The situation led to major inconvenience for teachers, parents and students. School principals across the city concur that the matter needs to be thoroughly investigated, and the authorities should ensure it reaches a logical conclusion at the earliest.

The principals and teachers believe that those behind such hoax threats operate without fear, assuming they can get away without facing any legal action. A section of teachers also suspect that the emails may have been sent by students to avoid examinations.

Harmit Kaur Waraich, principal, Nankana Sahib Public School, said the issue was discussed among principals as internal examinations were about to begin. “We are almost certain that the emails were sent by students to avoid exams. The police should probe the matter thoroughly. Although there was tension when a few schools received the emails, the police found nothing and panic spread unnecessarily. Exams were postponed in the affected schools,” added Waraich.

Vandna Shahi, principal, BCM School, Dugri, said the institute also received the threat email but steps were taken to ensure that there was no panic.

“The police arrived for checking, but only a handful of teachers were aware of the email. Other teachers and students were not informed. We accompanied the police and conveyed to the students and teachers that it was routine checking because of the exams. There was no need for panic as similar hoax emails were earlier received by schools in Amritsar and Jalandhar,” said Shahi.

On Wednesday, students reached their schools as usual and appeared for their examinations, as scheduled.

Commissioner of Police Swapan Sharma asserted the police were investigating the matter and trying to trace the IP addresses from which the emails were sent. “As of now, we have not reached any conclusion,” added Sharma.