Jaipur: Exactly 16 years after serial blasts rocked Jaipur killing 71 people, at least 35 schools here received bomb threats via email early this morning today.
Schools were evacuated immediately even as parents rushed to pick up their kids. There was panic amongst the parents after they received the message on their school groups.
Several Delhi schools had received such a threat on May 2, creating a panic. Several airports including Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Delhi and eight hospitals in Delhi had received such bomb threat emails on May 12.
In Jaipur, at least 35 schools including reputed ones like The Palace School, Manak Chow; Maheshwari Public School Tilak Nagar ; Vidyaashram School OTS Chouraha; Sanskar School Hanuman Nagar; Jayshree Periwal School Chitrakoot and others received emails in the morning.
Shreshta Sarkar, whose son studies in class V in The Palace School in the Walled City, told Deccan Herald she received the message on the school group around 9:30 am in the morning. “Obviously I panicked and rushed to school. Since we stay near the school, I could get him home by 10 am. They were not allowed to go into their classrooms. Everyone was talking about the 2008 serial blasts then, which had occurred in the Walled City. And most parents seemed alarmed and frightened. Everybody was in a rush to see their kids and take them home safely.”
Vidyaashram School, one of the premier institutes in the centre of the city, which also received bomb threats, was evacuated immediately. Arpita Chatterjee, teacher in the kindergarten wing, said: “We were told to evacuate the building by 10 am. Our kids already have holidays. Only the teachers were present. Later our school declared a holiday.”
The police and bomb disposal squad fanned out to the schools and were looking for bombs in the premises. Sanskar School principal, Dr Neelam Bharadwaj said they received a long threatening email early in the morning and immediately called the police.
Searches are being conducted in the school premises till now. Cyber security experts are examining the origin of the email.
The threat assumes significance because today is the anniversary of the serial blasts which took place on this day, mainly in the Walled Pink City of Jaipur, killing 71 people. After the blasts, Indian Mujahideen had claimed responsibility for the blasts through an email.