Panic gripped Bengaluru city on the morning of Friday, December 1, after over 45 schools in the city received bomb threats via email, resulting in the evacuation of thousands of students, teachers and other staff from school premises. When news of the threat email began to emerge, parents of students, not just from the schools which got the threat email, but from other schools as well, rushed to pick up their children.
Speaking to TNM, Shruti, whose child studies in a school that received a threat, said that they were first alerted about it through a WhatsApp group of the school parents. “My daughter uses the school bus service. She reached the school around 7.45 am but the school guards told the students not to get off the bus and all buses were asked to wait in the school parking lot along with the students,” said Shruti.
Around 8.23 am, the school principal sent an official confirmation to all parents stating that they received a security threat and based on the directions by the bomb squad, they had decided to disperse the students immediately. Students who usually take the school bus were sent home in the same school buses with the parents being alerted to track the buses as they usually do and ensure the progress till their kids get home.
“Before we got the official confirmation from the principal, there was panic among the parents as we kept calling the school officials to understand what was going on. The school phone lines were also not reachable because of this,” said Shruti.
Meanwhile, several other schools, where there was no threat, had informed the parents that the students were safe. Some schools communicated that parents were free to come and pick up their wards if they were feeling insecure or scared.
Speaking to TNM, a parent of a student studying at VIBGYOR High School in Hennur said that although there was no threat to the school, several of the parents had gone to pick up their wards after they heard about the news. “We got a message that the students have been evacuated to the playgrounds and that they are safe. And that if we are concerned, we can go pick up the children,” said the parent. She also added that some of the parents picked up students whose parents could not come as they were living or working far away.
Prominent schools in the city including NEEV, KLAY, and Vidyashilp which received the threat email are currently undergoing rigorous security assessments to ensure the safety of students and staff.
Meanwhile, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah said that the police are looking into the matter and parents need not panic. “I have instructed the police to inspect the schools and enhance security. A preliminary report has been received from the police department,” said the CM.