A more sinister angle has emerged in the bomb hoax emails sent to nearly 100 schools in Delhi and the National Capital Region with the police now investigating whether there is a terror link to them. With the emails being traced back to a Russian domain using the internet protocol (IP) address, the Delhi Police’s Special Cell is looking into a connection with that country as well as Pakistan, sources have said.
The suspicion is that the threat was sent at the behest of the Pakistani intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) by an ISIS module, said an official. Giving this theory credence is the fact that the email ID from which the threats were sent to the schools is sawariim@mail.ru. Sawariim, an Arabic word, has been used extensively in ISIS propaganda since 2014.
An official said the Islamic terror group has been plotting a cyber war against India and that the ISI is helping it do so.
Students were sent home early in all the schools after they received the bomb threat via email on Wednesday morning. A thorough search was conducted at all the institutions, but nothing suspicious was found.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena and the home ministry have both said the threats appear to be hoaxes. “I request the parents not to panic, and cooperate with the administration in ensuring the safety of schools and the children. The miscreants and culprits will not be spared,” Mr Saxena said.
Delhi Public School, Noida, Principal Kaamini Bhasin said, “We received a mail regarding a bomb. We decided not to take any risk and also informed the police. The parents have been informed and the students have been sent back home.”
In a post on X, Delhi Education Minister Atishi confirmed that some schools had received bomb threats but added that nothing suspicious was found in any of them.
