Ahmedabad schools receive bomb threat emails on last day of board exams, no explosives found

Panic prevailed in parts of Ahmedabad on Wednesday after several schools received bomb threat emails on the final day of the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSEB) examinations, prompting large-scale evacuations and security checks, police said.

The emails, sent from an unidentified source, claimed that explosives had been planted on school premises and warned of casualties among students and parents, officials said.

Among the schools that received the threats were Maharaja Agrasen School, Calorx Public School and Shanti Asiatic School in the western parts of the city, they said.

School authorities alerted the police control room immediately after receiving the emails, following which teams of local police, Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) and dog squad were rushed to the campuses.

As a precautionary measure, students were evacuated from classrooms and shifted to safe locations, officials said, adding that a large number of students were present as it was the last day of examinations.

“Prima facie, the threat appears to be a hoax, but all premises were thoroughly checked to rule out any possibility,” a senior police officer said.

The Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch has initiated a probe and is tracing the IP address of the sender, police said.

Officials said similar threat emails were received earlier during events such as Republic Day and the Budget session, where investigations had pointed to the use of foreign servers.

The Police Commissioner appealed to parents not to panic or pay heed to rumours, and said adequate security arrangements have been put in place to ensure that the examination process remains unaffected.

No suspicious object has been found so far, police added.

Meanwhile, apart from Gujarat board exams, Zydus School for Excellence has delayed its ICSE exams for class 10.