"Email Traced": Delhi Lt Governor After Bomb Hoax Shuts Down 100 Schools

The national capital's Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena today said the police have traced the origin of the hoax bomb emails sent to nearly 100 schools in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).

He had gone to DAV School in north Delhi's Model Town after the schools received the bomb threat.

"The Delhi Police have traced the origin of the emails. I am assuring citizens of Delhi that the police are alert, getting leads, and will take strict action," Mr Saxena said.

It took some time for the police to trace the email's origin as it was sent using a virtual private network (VPN) that routed and rerouted data via foreign servers. The police managed to narrow down on the internet protocol (IP) address - a unique identifier - after retracing the VPN traffic and found the source of the email, sources said.

"Today, bomb threats have been received to some schools in Delhi through emails. Taking action on these threats, Delhi Police conducted thorough check of all such schools as per protocol. However, nothing objectionable has been found. It appears it was a hoax. Delhi Police request the public not to panic and maintain peace," the police said in a statement.

The Delhi Police's Special Cell has started an investigation, though nothing suspicious has been found in any of the schools, the police said. "We've checked all the schools and nothing has been found; there is no need to panic," senior police officer Kumar Mahla said.

Mr Saxena said he has sought a detailed probe from the Delhi Police chief.

"... I request the parents not to panic, and cooperate with the administration in ensuring safety of schools and the children. The miscreants and culprits will not be spared," Mr Saxena said.

The police and fire department officers are conducting thorough inspections in all the schools that received the bomb threat around 4.15 am.

"We got information that the same email was sent to several schools at around 4:15 am. We took action and decided to close the schools and send the students back home. Checking is underway at all the schools and our technical wing is investigating the email. Through the initial investigation, it seems that this is a mass email," senior police officer Rohit Meena said.

He asked parents to remain calm as all precautions are being taken.

Delhi Public School Noida principal Kaamini Bhasin said safety is their top priority. "We received a mail regarding a bomb. We have students so we can't take the risk. We informed the police. The parents have been informed, and the students have been sent back home," Ms Kaamini said.