Bengaluru on alert after schools receive bomb threats, cops call it a hoax

Around 28 schools in Bengaluru received a nasty shock on Friday in the form of emails and calls claiming there were bombs on their premises that could be triggered at any point. Chief minister Siddaramaiah, however, assured parents that they need not panic at what was likely a hoax. “I have instructed the police to inspect the schools and enhance security,” he said

Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar assured the public that the perpetrators would be found within 24 hours. Speaking to the media after visiting a school that had received a threat, he said hoax threats cannot be taken lightly and a thorough investigation needs to be done every single time in every single case. A school opposite to the deputy CM’s house had also received the threat.

Home minister G Parameshwara denounced the act as “despicable,” saying the state’s technical team was working to verify the perpetrators. “We will verify as to who is behind it and if there is the involvement of any terrorist organisation, and take measures accordingly. For now, it cannot be said who is behind it,” he said.


Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda said many anti-sabotage teams had scanned the premises and had not found anything suspicious. “As of now, it looks like a hoax message. We request parents not to panic,” he said. Schools, he added, had received such a message last year as well. “We are also in the process of registering a case in this regard and a thorough investigation is underway…the city is now on alert” he said.

National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairman Priyank Kanoogo said this was doubly serious as it was not happening for the first time. “Threats given to schools indicate that it’s intended to scare children’s guardians regarding their safety and security,” he said.

Several schools in the city had received bomb threat emails last year as well. While the police had traced the code of the program used to send the mails in 2022 to Tamil Nadu, they weren’t able to catch the perpetrator.