Twenty private schools across Anna Nagar, Nolambur, Paruthipattu, and Pallikaranai received hoax bomb threats via email late Wednesday night. Four branches of a prominent Chennai school chain were specifically targeted in the coordinated scare.

Morning alert triggers swift action

School management discovered the threatening emails only on Thursday morning. They promptly notified local police, who deployed bomb detection and disposal squads to thoroughly search all premises. No explosives were found. Authorities have registered cases and launched a detailed investigation to trace the source of the emails.

Multiple FIRs, ongoing probe

Separate First Information Reports (FIRs) have been filed for each affected institution. Cyber teams are analysing email metadata and digital footprints to identify the perpetrator.

Repeat of last year’s unsolved case

The incident mirrors a similar episode in February last year, when 13 private schools in Chennai received hoax bomb threats on the same day. Despite a case being registered by the Central Crime Branch’s cybercrime wing, no arrests were made.

Police attributed the failure to the sender’s use of end-to-end encrypted email platforms and virtual private networks, which effectively masked their identity and location.