Bomb threats received for Dera Ballan, 2 schools ahead of PM Narendra Modi's visit to Jalandhar

JALANDHAR: Bomb threats were received on Saturday for the Dera Sachkhand Ballan and two schools in Punjab’s Jalandhar, a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the sect’s headquarters. According to news agency PTI, the threatening emails were sent to the schools, but the content of the message made a direct threat to the Dera Ballan. Police have begun security checks at the school premises and deployed bomb squads as a precaution. There were no students present at the schools as it was a holiday. The prime minister is due to visit the Dera Ballan on Sunday to mark Guru Ravidas Jayanti. Police said they were verifying the threat emails and that the matter was currently under investigation. The development comes days after several schools in Chandigarh received similar threats on Wednesday, though nothing suspicious was found.Similar incidents have previously been reported in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala in Punjab, as well as Ambala in neighbouring Haryana, where some schools received threats that were later determined to be hoaxes.