A 15-year-old student from a private school in Delhi was apprehended by Noida Police for allegedly sending hoax bomb threat emails to four schools on Wednesday, February 5. This was stated in a report by The Indian Express.
According to officers, the teenager was inspired by recent media reports detailing a spate of similar threats targetting schools across Delhi-NCR.
“He did not want to go to school and, therefore, planned to send an email threat to all four schools, except for his to avoid being caught,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police, Noida, Rambadan Singh.
The threats, which targeted Heritage School, Step by Step School, Gyanshree School, and Mayur School, were sent via email at 12.30 pm, prompting immediate action from authorities. The police were alerted at 8.30 am on Wednesday about the potential presence of bombs.
Following standard security protocols, the schools were swiftly evacuated, and students, teachers, and staff were moved to safe locations. A bomb disposal squad conducted extensive searches of the premises, but no explosive materials were found.
“During intensive checking, no bomb or explosive material of any kind was found, which proved that the information received was false and baseless,” the police confirmed in a statement.
Subsequently, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered at Noida’s Sector 126 police station under sections 212 (spreading false information), 351(4) (criminal intimidation by anonymous communication), and 352 (breach of peace) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with relevant provisions of the Information Technology (IT) Act.
Police tracked the email and traced it back to the juvenile’s residence in Delhi, where he was taken into custody. The teenager later confessed that he had been influenced by recent media reports on similar threats and had also watched YouTube videos discussing such incidents.
“He said he had seen some videos on YouTube in which cases related to bomb threats were being discussed. These videos inspired him… he used VPN software to hide his identity so that his real location and IP address could not reach the police and this would help him keep his activities secret. Using VPN, he sent information about planting bombs to Heritage School, Step by Step School, Gyanshree School, and Mayur School through email,” said Singh.
Police are now investigating whether any other individuals were involved and are also reviewing the role of online content in influencing such acts.
