Pandemonium erupted across the compounds of at least 15 schools scattered throughout Bengaluru as administrative staff members received emails warning of explosive devices planted within their institutions, capable of detonating at any moment. Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda stated that numerous anti-sabotage teams meticulously combed through the school premises and discovered no signs of any suspicious objects.
“At present, it appears to be a hoax message. We will conclude the search operation shortly. Nevertheless, we urge parents not to panic,” he remarked, further noting, “Similar emails were sent by miscreants to numerous schools in the city last year as well,” stated the top cop.
A sense of anxiety swept over numerous parents, teachers, and guardians. Some schools relocated students to nearby playgrounds or secure locations, while a few others requested parents or guardians to promptly retrieve their children.
The police, accompanied by the bomb disposal squad, hurried to the schools and initiated search operations. According to sources, the email, purportedly sent by a terrorist organization, issued a threat to detonate explosives in the schools unless they converted to Islam.
Bengaluru Bomb Text
Times Now reported the content of the email received by Bengaluru schools. The threat email is reproduced verbatim below:-
“There are explosive devices on the school grounds
On November 26 martyrs in the way of Allah killed hundreds of idolaters
It is truly powerful to hold a knife over tens of millions of thin gulps of kafirs He falls and falls
Hundreds of Mujahideen flooded the war area in anticipation of martyrdom in the way of Allah You are the enemies of Allah we will kill you and your children
You have a choice to become our slaves or to accept the true religion of Allah Temples
Your idols
From Buddha to infinity
They will fly apart from our explosions
Bismillah, we will spread the true religion of Allah to the whole of India
And we sent predators at you
Already flying to immerse yourself in the Taj
Bismillah tomorrow it will become the capital and thousands of Zionists all over the world dead
Convert to Islam or die under the weight of the sword of Islam
When you meet with non-believers, you chop off their heads
Chop off their heads and chop off all their fingers
Fight all the polytheists just as they fight all of you
Allahu Akbar”
Karnataka Dy CM DK Shivakumar and LoP R. Ashok visit schools to reassure parents
Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Leader of Opposition R. Ashok visited the schools to reassure parents and pledged to take stringent action. This marks the second occurrence of schools receiving such a hoax mail. Home Minister G. Parameshwara also vowed strict measures against the perpetrators, stating, “We have implemented all precautionary measures, and parents should not be alarmed. The cybercrime police are actively working to trace the culprits through their IP addresses.”
Meanwhile, several schools that did not receive any threat emails have also dismissed children from classes due to the concerns expressed by anxious parents.
Past instances of Bengaluru schools receiving bomb threats
It is worth noting that this is not the first time that panic has gripped Bengaluru schools over alleged bomb threats. Earlier this year, in January 2023, the Karnataka police informed that the National Academy for Learning (NAFL) in Bengaluru had received a bomb threat over email. It was later revealed that the email was sent by a minor boy who studied in a different school and issued a fake bomb threat ‘fun’.
In this case, the police took the minor boy from school and handed him over to the State Juvenile Justice Board. According to police, the boy was identified using the IP address used to send the threat email, and when questioned, he stated that he did it for fun. He told police that he obtained the school’s official email address through a Google search.
In April 2022, the city was rocked with a similar case of fake bomb threats made to schools, touching off panic and anxiety among nervous parents. Though the threats were hoaxes, the Bengaluru police had registered a case under the Information Technology (IT) Act 66 (F).
The police had then said that they were treating the case extremely seriously as it created panic and hysteria among the school administrations, students, parents and general citizenry, despite disrupting educational activities.
