Bomb threats targeting three DU colleges and 45+ schools have triggered mass evacuations and deepening fear. As students, parents, and teachers grapple with repeated hoaxes, a pressing question emerges: what does safety mean in a city where panic arrives before the school bell even rings?

Amid a string of unsettling events, fresh panic gripped Delhi University as three more colleges, Indraprastha College for Women, Hindu College, and Shri Ram College of Commerce received bomb threats via email earlier today. North Delhi Police confirmed the threats and stated that security protocols were immediately activated, with police teams conducting thorough campus searches. This marks the fourth such incident this week, escalating anxiety across students, parents, and staff. Notably, these threats are not limited to higher education institutions. Over the past few days, more than 45 schools across Delhi have also been targeted with similar alarming emails.

Authorities have launched a full-scale investigation, with cybercrime units working to trace the origin of these messages. While all previous threats have turned out to be hoaxes, they have nonetheless triggered widespread panic, repeated evacuations, and intense law enforcement activity. The surge began on July 14, when three Delhi schools received bomb threats that led to bomb squad inspections; none of which revealed any explosive devices. On July 15, St. Stephen’s College and St. Thomas School were forced into lockdowns after receiving emails about IEDs and RDX being planted on their premises. The case was later traced to a 12-year-old student, who was detained briefly and released following counseling. The threats continued on July 16, when seven private schools received similar emails, prompting early morning evacuations and city-wide searches. No explosives were found in any of these cases, but the wave of threats has deeply unsettled educational communities across the capital.

Reacting to the developments, former Delhi Chief Minister and current Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Atishi, took to social media to voice her concern. She condemned the government’s failure to ensure the safety of children, writing: 

More than 20 schools have received bomb threats today! Think of the trauma that children, parents, and teachers would be going through. BJP controls all 4-engines of governance in Delhi, and is yet not able to provide any safety or security to our children! Shocking.”

Cyber experts and senior officers of the Delhi Police investigating the threats add that the senders are using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and the dark web. According to police, all the emails received were similar, containing vague but threatening information, sent before school timings and often through international servers. The entire matter is under probe, they added. They warn that the use of VPNs and routing through the web proxies is hindering traceability like “chasing a shadow in a room full of mirrors” and as they “find a clue, it disappears behind another layer of anonymity.”

Meanwhile, in Bengaluru, a similar pattern emerged today as around 40 private schools across the city received hoax bomb threats. Chilling emails claimed TNT devices had been planted, prompting immediate evacuations and bomb squad deployments. However, no explosives were found.  While none of these incidents yielded actual devices, the recurring pattern of early-morning emails, mass panic, and the rapid dismantling by anti-sabotage teams creates a troubling continuity that heightens anxiety across these two cities and places growing strain on emergency response systems. Until those responsible are held accountable and preventive systems strengthened, Delhi’s educational spaces, in particular, remain vulnerable; not just to physical danger, but to the looming cloud of fear.

Image Source: Deccan Herald

Neeraja Unnikrishnan

[email protected]