Panic swept through Chennai as at least 13 private schools across the city received bomb threats via email on Thursday, February 8, reports The New Indian Express. The schools, located in areas like Mannady, JJ Nagar, Anna Nagar, Gopalapuram, Nandambakkam, and Royapettah, were checked thoroughly by multiple bomb detection squads and sniffer dog teams, according to police. However, a police press release issued later in the day stated that all 13 schools were meticulously inspected, and the threat turned out to be a hoax. An investigation, led by special police and cybercrime units, has been launched to identify the perpetrators behind the threatening emails, states TNIE.
"All the emails were sent from a single email ID and the cyber crime police have been brought in to trace and identify the person(s) behind this," said Prem Anand Sinha, Additional Commissioner of Police (South), Chennai, at a press meet held at the Chennai City Police Commissioner office on the afternoon of February 8.
According to the press release, the Cyber Crime Wing of the city police has registered a case and is actively pursuing an "intensive investigation" to nab the individual responsible for sending the threatening emails. "On behalf of the Greater Chennai Police, students, parents and school management are advised not to panic," the press release said.
Following the dissemination of the news, concerned parents hurried to the schools to retrieve their children. Many gathered anxiously outside the school gates. While a few institutions opted to dismiss students early, others relocated them to the school grounds.
A head of one of the private schools that received the threat email, told TNIE, "We received an email around 10 am that said two bombs were planted in the school. The mail also said taking action swiftly is important and instructed us to call the police. We called the police immediately. The students were moved to the school grounds and parents started arriving before lunch." The email ID to which the threat mail was sent is the school’s official email ID, which is also mentioned in the school diary, the source said.
