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Another week, another hoax: Threats sent to Mohali schools, Fortis Hospital
Mohali superintendent of police (SP) Dilpreet Singh confirmed that authorities received the threatening email around 8 am through official email IDs of Gyan Jyoti School.
Over 16 Mohali schools and the Fortis Hospital, where Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann was admitted for exhaustion, received bomb threat emails on Tuesday morning, in what was the fifth such hoax alert in about a month.
Since January 28, the tricity has received hoax mails almost every week, with Mohali receiving the threats for the second consecutive week. On January 28, the threats had been sent out to schools in Chandigarh, followed by the secretariat buildings in the city the next day. The subsequent week, the district court complex in Chandigarh received a threat. This was followed by a threat to several schools in Mohali. But in all cases, the emails turned out to be a hoax.
Mohali superintendent of police (SP) Dilpreet Singh confirmed that authorities received the threatening email around 8 am through official email IDs of Gyan Jyoti School. The message mentioned an intention to target Fortis Hospital, Mohali.
Police immediately activated anti-sabotage measures. Teams from the police headquarters, range office and Mohali police, along with bomb disposal squads, reached Fortis and began a search of the premises. Authorities at Gyan Jyoti School said they alerted the police immediately after receiving the mail. Simultaneously, they got students who had already reached the campus to assemble on the ground while those who were on their way were advised to return home.
Most schools that received the threats suspended classes for the day. Only schools where exams were going on remained open for the day. The SP confirmed that there was no suspicious object or explosive material at any of the schools or the hospital.
He added that investigators are tracing the source of the email. Referring to the threats received at schools on February 11, the SP said that technical analysis showed the IP address linked to the earlier email originated from the United States, while a recovery email was traced to Bangladesh. He said the senders use different internet IP addresses.
Police have appealed to the public to remain calm and report any suspicious activity to the nearest police station.
