Hoax threats at St Stephen's, Delhi-NCR schools

NEW DELHI/NOIDA: Several schools and a college in Delhi received bomb threat emails on Friday morning, which led to panic and prompted immediate security responses. These included St Stephen's College, a constituent of Delhi University, Ahlcon International School in Mayur Vihar Phase-1, and Banyan Tree in Lodhi Colony. All the threats were declared hoax after security teams scanned the campuses.

The emails sent to Ahlcon International School and Banyan Tree mentioned "C4 RDX-based IEDs" and directed the schools to evacuate everyone from the campuses and to contact Central Bureau of Investigation. The email sent to Ahlcon International School and Banyan Tree contained complex references, mentioning "a recent issue involving a meth case" and alleging connections to various individuals.

A senior police officer said that St. Stephen's College received the bomb threat at 7.42 am, while Ahlcon International School and Banyan Tree School received their emails at 5.44 am. "The emails might have been sent by students, though investigations are ongoing," he added.

Deputy commissioner of police (North) Raja Banthia said a thorough investigation by a bomb disposal squad, a dog squad, and the college security team was completed on the premises of St Stephen's College. "After nothing suspicious was found, the premises was handed over to the college administration for further academic work," the officer added.

A private school in Noida Sector 168 received a bomb threat via email on Friday morning. The email, written in Tamil, led to suspension of classes at Shiv Nadar School.

Officials at Shiv Nadar said that though the email was sent around 6am, it was discovered a little later during a routine check of the morning system. According to ADCP Sumit Shukla, police received a call informing them about the threat mail around 7.45am. Emergency teams - comprising police units, fire brigades, dog squads, and bomb detection experts - were dispatched soon.

The school management notified parents promptly, advising them to keep their children at home while safety protocols were being implemented on the campus. Students who had already boarded school buses were sent back home as a precautionary measure.

Police sources confirmed that the email was written in Tamil and primarily discussed ongoing conflicts at Anna University - where a 19-year-old student was allegedly sexually assaulted by an outsider on Dec 23 last year.

While the subject line mentioned an 'RDX bomb blast', the content largely focused on Tamil Nadu politics surrounding the university assault case, according to translated versions examined by security authorities.