A wave of panic swept through Delhi on Tuesday morning as St Stephen’s College and St Thomas School in Dwarka received bomb threats via email, prompting mass evacuations and a high-level emergency response. The threats, which claimed that multiple explosive devices had been planted on campus, ultimately turned out to be hoaxes. However, the scare disrupted daily routines and left parents, students, and staff deeply shaken.
At around 7:15 am, St Stephen’s received an email warning that four IEDs and two packets of RDX were hidden within the campus, including in the college library, and set to detonate by 2:00 pm. St Thomas School received a similar threat shortly after. Police, bomb disposal units, fire services, and emergency response teams rushed to both locations. The premises were fully evacuated and searched, and after exhaustive sweeps, authorities confirmed that no suspicious objects were found.
Officials believe Tuesday’s incident is part of a coordinated cyber-terror campaign targeting high-profile educational institutions across multiple Indian cities. Similar threats were reported the same morning in Mumbai and Amritsar, while Delhi alone has witnessed dozens of such hoaxes in recent months — including over 200 schools earlier this year.
Investigators say the emails are often masked through VPNs, complicating efforts to trace the senders. Cyber forensics teams are actively analyzing the latest threats, while authorities call for stricter punishment for hoax perpetrators to deter future attempts.
Meanwhile, parents expressed outrage and fear, with many rushing to pick up their children. Some chose not to comment due to security concerns. Security experts have warned that even false alarms can destabilize communities and disrupt education. Officials have pledged heightened digital surveillance and emergency preparedness, as investigations into the source of the hoaxes continue.