Bomb Threats Force Evacuation of Chennai Schools; Police Investigate

Several schools in Chennai, India received bomb threats on Thursday, prompting authorities to evacuate students and launch investigations. The Greater Chennai Police (GCP) swung into action, deploying bomb disposal squads to the affected educational institutions.

Among the schools targeted were DAV in Gopalapuram, Chettinad Vidyashram in RA Puram, Chennai Public School in Anna Nagar and JJ Nagar, and St Marys’ School in Parrys. Local media reports suggest that at least five schools in total received the threat.

Following the receipt of bomb threat emails, students were sent back home with their parents while police conducted anti-sabotage checks at the schools. The GCP appealed to the public not to panic and assured that necessary measures were being taken to identify the culprits behind the hoax emails.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Prem Anand Sinha said that the police received information about the emails between 10:30 am and 11:00 am. While parents claimed that proper arrangements were not made to quickly disperse the students, the GCP urged the public to remain calm amid the chaos and confusion.

The police’s cyber-crime wing has launched an investigation to trace the IP address from which the emails were sent, as all the threats originated from the same email ID. Authorities are confident that the responsible individuals will be apprehended soon.

In a post on their X platform (formerly Twitter), the GCP informed the public about the bomb threats and the ongoing actions taken by the authorities. The Indian Express Pvt Ltd reported on the incident, highlighting the disarray and concern among parents as they rushed to the schools.