On Thursday, multiple colleges in Delhi, including prestigious institutions such as Lady Sri Ram College, Hansraj College, and Ramjas College, received alarming bomb threats. These threats, conveyed via email, triggered extensive security measures, although nothing suspicious was ultimately found.
The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) reported that the first call about the bomb threat at LSR College came at 4:38 PM, prompting the immediate dispatch of two fire tenders. Soon after, similar calls were made by other colleges to the authorities.
Responding swiftly, local police, a bomb disposal squad, a bomb detection team, and a dog squad arrived at LSR College to conduct thorough searches. However, no suspicious items were found, confirmed a DFS official. LSR Principal Suman Sharma told PTI that the campus had been fully sanitized following the threat. “We received the bomb threat email this afternoon. The police were informed immediately, and they sent a bomb disposal squad. The search operation lasted two to three hours, and the entire campus has been sanitized,” she said.
More about the bomb threat
A police officer disclosed that over a dozen other colleges in Delhi received similar threats. The email sender, identified as rizer111rizer@beeble.com, included these colleges in the CC of an email with the subject line “Bomb in the University.” The institutions affected included Hansraj College, Gargi College, Ramjas College, Zakir Husain College, Indraprastha College for Women, Lady Irwin College, Kirori Mal College, Bhaskaracharya College, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, Sri Venkateswara College, and PGDAV College. Additionally, state universities like Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University and the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) also received threats.
The officer noted that “beeble.com,” the mailing service used, is a Europe-based company previously implicated in sending similar threats to schools and hospitals in Delhi and other parts of the country. The content of the threatening email read: “There’s a bomb inside of your university, but also inside of every Delhi University. Blood will scatter everywhere and we will slit your families’ throats as well.” The email claimed to be from a group called Terrorizer111.
Following the receipt of these threats, all affected college campuses were thoroughly searched, but nothing suspicious was discovered. This incident is part of a troubling pattern, with various establishments in Delhi, including schools and hospitals, receiving bomb threats via email in recent weeks. For instance, Chacha Nehru Hospital received a bomb threat on April 30, and over 150 schools were threatened on May 1 by emails from a Russia-based mailing service.
Furthermore, on May 12, twenty hospitals, the IGI Airport, and the Northern Railways’ CPRO office in Delhi received bomb threats from a Cyprus-based mailing service. Subsequently, on May 14, seven Delhi hospitals and Tihar Jail were similarly threatened by emails from the same Cyprus-based service.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has taken these threats seriously, with the Delhi Police conducting comprehensive investigations into the email bomb threats. This rash of threats has caused significant alarm and disruption, although no actual bombs have been found so far. The authorities continue to monitor the situation closely, aiming to trace the origin of these threats and ensure the safety of all institutions involved.
This series of events underscores the increasing frequency and seriousness of such threats, highlighting the need for vigilance and prompt response by security agencies. The coordinated efforts of the DFS, police, and bomb disposal teams in addressing these threats demonstrate the priority given to ensuring public safety. As investigations continue, it is hoped that the perpetrators behind these threats will be identified and brought to justice.
Excerpts taken from: Business Standard
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