Bomb hoaxes become latest Delhi flashpoint
The allegation prompted the BJP to blame the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and name chief minister Atishi and party chief Arvind Kejriwal
A 17-year-old boy who allegedly sent bomb threats via email to 400 schools became the focal point of the Delhi assembly elections campaign on Tuesday after the police said his guardians were linked to a non-governmental organisation (NGO) with ties to a political party.

The allegation prompted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to blame the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and name chief minister Atishi and party chief Arvind Kejriwal; Delhi’s ruling party quickly hit back, accusing the BJP of politicising the issue.
The developments came five days after the police picked up the Class 12 student from a prominent south Delhi school for allegedly sending multiple bomb threats via email to several schools across Delhi over the past few months. The boy was caught last Thursday from outside Delhi, questioned, and released after counselling.
But on Tuesday, police alleged that there was a larger conspiracy behind the emails. “We did background profiling of his family and found that the child’s guardians work in an organisation where an NGO is active. This NGO has a deep connection to a political party. Preliminary probe of this NGO revealed that it is part of a civil society group that opposed the hanging of Afzal Guru’s hanging and supported a political party on various issues,” said special commissioner of police (law and order) Madhup Tiwari.
To be sure, the police didn’t officially disclose the names of the organisation, NGO, civil society group or political party, didn’t elaborate on the nature of the link, or offer any proof of the allegations. Tiwari’s allegations also contradicted earlier police claims that the boy acted alone. But he raised questions on whether the NGO, which ostensibly backed a particular party, was behind the so-called conspiracy. One of the investigating officers clarified that the police found no links between the child and the NGO, and added that the exact motive was still not known.
“The influence of this NGO and its proximity to a political party raises critical questions about a possible larger conspiracy to create public unrest through disruptive tactics,” Tiwari said.
The unusual development immediately took on a political colour. BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi pointed the finger at the AAP. “AAP has deep links with such NGOs and activities which objected to Afzal Guru’s hanging... Does this NGO have any link with the AAP? CM Atishi’s parents had supported the mercy petition of Afzal Guru. It appears there is a link between the two,” he said.
Trivedi said that Kejriwal should clarify its stand on the NGO. “What is their relationship with this NGO and the people accused in the matter? It appears that there is a relationship between the two. If they do not clarify, doubt will be raised about their credibility.”
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva went a step further and linked it to the February 5 assembly elections. “An atmosphere of fear was created before the assembly elections....In the coming days, a major revelation will be made linking all of these characters after the investigation is over,” he said.
The AAP hit back. The party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said that the BJP was politicising an issue involving school children.
“The first threat was given in May 2024. After almost nine months now, the Delhi Police have given no statement but the BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi is holding a press conference. He is telling stories of different NGOs, he knows everything. There was no investigation for ten months but now 15 days before the elections, they are narrating fabricated stories,” he said.
Singh said that the BJP had no concern for the security of Delhi and the country.
“Several threats have been made to blow up Delhi’s schools, but police have not been able to provide any information, but today BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi has come up with a fabricated story. It is extremely shameful that BJP is using bomb threats to schools for political gains. AAP has been raising concerns about Delhi’s deteriorating law and order for a long time, but the BJP government has done nothing,” he added.
The BJP and the AAP are locked in a fierce battle in the assembly elections, with the former hoping to regain power after 27 years in the Capital and the latter aiming for a third consecutive full term. The Congress is the third player in the February 5 polls.
The controversy is rooted in the bomb threats that 600 or so schools across the Capital have received over the last 13 months. Last Thursday , police briefly detained a Class 12 student from a prominent south Delhi school allegedly sending multiple bomb threats via email to several schools across Delhi over the past few months.
The detention had come a day after 16 schools received bomb threats, marking the seventh such incident in two months. Last year, at least 14 similar threats created chaos and panic among students, teachers and parents, prompting deployment of bomb squads, dog squads, firefighters and paramilitary forces.
At the time, investigators had said that the boy was allegedly involved in at least three to four previous incidents of bomb threats, and that he worked alone. But on Tuesday, Tiwari put the number at 400 and hinted at a wider conspiracy.
He said the student was sending these emails for a year and allegedly used VPN to mask his identity. “We have been looking at these threat mails which were sent to multiple schools since February last year. These mails affected the school classes, curriculum and exams. School authorities were tense. We found the accused was using VPN which is difficult to track. The last mail was found on January 8th. In that incident, we found a clue and identified the student. We seized his laptop and two mobile phones and sent them to the forensic lab,” Tiwari said.
“We think the first email was sent by him on February 8 and he’s also involved in the May incident. We also found that the student was using VPN and Tor browser. We asked how one child could do all this and if there was a larger conspiracy,” Tiwari added.
Police said that the motive behind the emails was to create panic and “disruption” in schools.
“The boy was using a free VPN which usually has an expiry date or cracks during analysis. Only paid VPN stays hidden for long. After the January 8 incident, we started looking into the servers and found the location of the accused. The encryption by the VPN could not work as it had expired and during technical analysis, we found the details. The student used the dark web to plan the emails,” said an official aware of the investigation.
Police said the child was “apprehended” but later said it had only “interacted” with the student.
Police said the father of the boy worked at a private firm and didn’t share his exact association with the NGO. On January 10, the police had said that the boy sent the emails alone and “boasted” about it in chat rooms to his friends.

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