Bomb threats to Delhi Secretariat, Assembly, Red Fort and two schools turn out to be hoax

New Delhi: Multiple institutions, including the Delhi Secretariat, Delhi Assembly, Red Fort and two schools in the national capital, received bomb threats via email on Monday, which were later declared a "hoax", officials said.

An official of the Delhi Fire Services confirmed that Delhi Secretariat, Delhi Army Public School in Dhaula Kuan and Air Force Bal Bharti School on Lodhi Road received bomb threats.

The threat emails were also received on the official ID of the Delhi Assembly and its Speaker at 8 am, reportedly from the Khalistan National Army, sources said.

The threatening emails mention “Delhi banega Khalistan” (Delhi will become Khalistan) and read that there will be blasts in Delhi Army School, Red Fort and Metros in the next three days.

The emails claimed a blast at the Delhi Army school at 1:11 pm, Vidhan Sabha at 3:11 pm and Red Fort at 9:11 am, they said.

After receiving the threatening emails, the administrations of both schools informed authorities in the morning, a senior police officer said.

"As a precautionary measure, the premises were evacuated, and thorough search operations are being carried out. However, after nothing suspicious was found, it was declared a hoax," the officer said.

An Aam Aadmi Party leader and former MLA, Dilip K Pandey, in a post on X said, "Today, I received a bomb threat on my personal email ID, and since the matter was related to public safety, I have immediately forwarded the email to Delhi Police." Upon receiving the information, teams from the Delhi Police, the bomb disposal squad, dog squad and Delhi Fire Services rushed to the spots and cordoned off the areas around the schools and other locations.

"We are verifying the source of the emails and further investigation is under way," the officer added.

The cyber cell has been roped in to trace the origin of the emails and identify the sender. Search operations are continuing.