A bomb threat rumour at a prominent school in Amritsar was spread by three of its own students who have been detained, police said. Heavy security was deployed outside the school after the messages warning of firings and bomb blasts went viral on the internet last night.
The rumours were traced to three students of the school within a few hours, but they could not be arrested as they are minors, police said. An investigation will be done as per the law, they added.
While the bomb hoax post went viral on Instagram, another message warning of a firing in the same school was shared on WhatsApp. The messages soon made their way into the school groups, triggering panic among people. Notably, both the posts featured Pakistan flag emojis and the text was in both English and Urdu.
The Cyber Cell of Amritsar Police traced the origin of the messages to the IP address of a Class 9 student staying in Chheharta near Amritsar city.
On information, the police deployed commandoes and armoured vehicles for security outside the school, and conducted searches all night based on inputs from its Cyber Cell.
Three Class 9 students had planned this as part of a mischief and they were detained, said Prabhjot Singh Virk, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police.
After the threats were found to be false, it was concluded that it's safe for the students to come to school. Let them feel normal, the principal of the school told reporters.
AdvertisementEarlier, Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla asked Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to tighten the security outside schools, stating that a principal of a famed school has received a threat which has triggered panic among the residents.
"I suggest @CMOPb to instruct anti-sabotage teams to comb school premises and direct police and intelligence agencies to explain this lapse in security and safety of public," he tweeted last night.
