Series of bomb threat emails sent to 19 locations across Nagpur on Tuesday created panic among students, parents, school administration and Government officials. The targets included 16 reputed schools, the District Court, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) headquarters and the District Collector’s office. The threats turned out to be a hoax, but it triggered a massive security response across the city. According to police, the first threatening email was received by Delhi Public School around 9.45 am from the email ID [email protected]. After noticing the message, the school administration quickly informed the police.

 

The information set off a city-wide alert. Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) teams, along with local police personnel, rushed to the schools and Government offices mentioned in the email. Detailed searches were carried out at all locations. The threat emails were sent to three branches of Delhi Public School, all three branches of Bhavan’s School at Civil Lines, Pratap Nagar, Chinchbhuvan, four Kendriya Vidyalayas, two branches each of Podar School and Centre Point School, Neeri Modern School in Laxmi Nagar, Mount Litera Zee School. The District Collector’s office, NMC headquarters at Civil Lines and the District Court were also on the target list. The threats caused anxiety among parents, many of whom rushed to schools after hearing the news. Several schools evacuated students from classrooms as a precautionary measure.

 

Teachers and staff tried to keep students calm while police conducted searches. Acting under the guidance of Police Commissioner Vishwas Nangre Patil, Joint Commissioner of Police Navinchandra Reddy, and DCP Cyber Deepak Agrawal officers from various police stations visited the affected institutions. They coordinated evacuation measures and reassured school authorities, students and parents. BDDS teams conducted thorough inspections of school buildings, classrooms, playgrounds, parking areas and surrounding premises. Joint CP Reddy remained in constant touch with the teams through wireless communication and monitored the operation throughout the day. A total of four BDDS units from Nagpur City Police, along with one unit each from Nagpur Rural Police and Railway Police, were deployed for the searches. After hours of inspections, no suspicious object or explosive material was found at any of the locations. By afternoon, police concluded that the threats were fake, bringing relief to students, parents and authorities.

 

 

Police suspect that the threatening emails were sent using a VPN (Virtual Private Network). The sender may have used VPN servers in other countries to hide his actual internet location. Normally, an IP (Internet Protocol) address can give investigators information about the internet connection used to send an email. But a VPN hides the user’s actual IP address and shows the IP address of the VPN server instead. The sender may have changed VPN servers while sending the emails. This could make the IP address appear to be from different locations. It has made it difficult for police to immediately find the person behind the emails. A senior police officer said the sender appears to have some technical knowledge. He may have deliberately studied ways to hide his identity before sending the threats. However, using a VPN does not mean that a person cannot be traced. Investigators can check email records, server logs and other digital evidence. They can also seek information from the email service and VPN providers. Police are also checking whether the sender could be from Nagpur. The person had email IDs of schools located in different parts of the city. Of the 19 locations targeted, 16 were schools. This has raised another question for investigators. They are checking whether the sender has any connection with the targeted schools, their students, teachers or staff. Police are also trying to find out how the sender collected the email IDs. Investigators are checking whether the details were easily available online or were obtained through some other source. 

 

 

 The threatening email contained objectionable remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and RSS Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat. It claimed that they were targets of Khalistan supporters. The message included slogans such as ‘Nagpur Marathi Bolega’ and ‘Khalistan Zindabad’. It threatened violence against RSS workers and warned people not to attend RSS shakhas. The email claimed that explosions would take place on August 31 and also threatened attacks on courts and the Municipal Corporation.