Multiple schools in Delhi received bomb threat emails on Thursday evening, triggering security checks across their premises before police declared the threats hoaxes, according to officials cited by the Times of India and news agency PTI.
Security personnel searched the affected school buildings and surrounding premises but found no suspicious objects. A police officer said that after a thorough search, the threat was determined to be a hoax. The report did not identify the schools or specify how many institutions received the emails.
The incident occurred as security arrangements were being strengthened across parts of the national capital ahead of a proposed protest by the Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, on Friday. The event, titled “Lehra Do Tiranga”, is scheduled to take place at 5pm at Central Park in Connaught Place.
Several companies of paramilitary forces are expected to be deployed in and around Connaught Place and Jantar Mantar to maintain law and order, PTI reported. Delhi Police personnel will be stationed at strategic locations, while barricades are expected to regulate the movement of protesters, commuters and other visitors in the central Delhi area.
The overlapping security response places schools and major public spaces within the same wider policing environment, although the report did not state that the school threats were connected to the proposed protest. The school searches were carried out after the threat emails were received, while the deployment around Connaught Place and Jantar Mantar relates to the planned demonstration and its potential impact on public movement.
Connaught Place is not a designated protest site, a senior police officer said. Jantar Mantar has also been denotified as a designated venue for demonstrations. Authorities have said protests may instead be held at Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground or CBD Ground after the required permission is obtained.
The proposed protest follows the arrest of CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka after they reached Jantar Mantar. They were subsequently remanded to five days of judicial custody by a special executive magistrate, PTI reported.
For schools, the immediate consequence of the emails was the deployment of security personnel and searches of their premises. For commuters and protesters, the police plan involves barricading, regulated movement and a heavier security presence around central Delhi. The police statement that no suspicious objects were found and that the threats were hoaxes concludes the immediate search operation described in the report.
Security arrangements for the proposed protest, including the deployment of paramilitary forces and restrictions around non-designated venues, are scheduled to continue ahead of the event at Central Park on Friday evening.
