Bengaluru: Case filed in schools bomb hoax threat

Home minister Jnanendra said all central agencies are looking into the hoax bomb threats to Bengaluru schools

Central agencies are looking into the hoax bomb threat received by at least 15 schools in Bengaluru on Friday, said Karnataka home minister Araga Jnanendra.

Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra says police were trying to find out as to who was behind the Bengaluru schools’ hoax bomb threat, and central agencies are also especially looking into it seriously. (PTI File)

On Friday, at least 15 schools in Bengaluru received a bomb threat via email. A senior police officer privy to the development said that the threat prima facie appears to be a hoax as the bomb detection squads did not find any explosives during the search operations. Bengaluru police conducted searches in at least six schools.

“Searches went on till last night. There was no bomb, it was a hoax. Our police are trying to find out as to who was behind the hoax threat, and central agencies are also especially looking into it seriously,” Jnanendra told reporters on Saturday in Bengaluru.

Asked which central agency was involved, the minister said, “All of them”, adding, “They have come themselves, to look into terror angle, whether the mail has come from outside... they will also inquire, collect details from our (police) investigation.”

Responding to a question about whether the government has taken serious note of Al-Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri’s video statement in which he has used the recent hijab controversy in Karnataka to target democracy in India, Jnanendra said the government has taken it seriously, and all necessary measures are being taken.

“I can’t share the details, because it is not a normal thing. He (Zawahiri) is the head of an international terrorist organisation. If he has spoken about our Mandya girl, we have taken it seriously. It is a matter of securing our national unity and integrity, we will do whatever is required for it,” he added.

Meanwhile, Bengaluru police have registered an FIR in the case under sections 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, and an investigation is underway. A senior officer said that the investigators are awaiting a response from Google on the query sent by police on the origin of the emails.

Bomb detection and disposal teams were sent to the schools that received threats on Friday to conduct searches, while police teams began investigating about threat e-mails and the sender.

The content in the mail read: “A very powerful bomb has been planted in your school, attention is not a joke, this is not a joke, a very powerful bomb has been planted in your school, immediately call the police and sappers, hundreds of lives may suffer, including yours, do not delay, now everything is only in your hands! [sic].”

(With inputs from PTI)