Six Barnala Schools Receive Threat Emails; Police Declare Them Hoax After Probe

A wave of concern gripped parts of Barnala district on Thursday after six private schools received threatening emails, prompting swift action by the police. However, after thorough जांच, authorities have declared the emails to be a hoax. According to sources, the incident began when one school received an email mentioning the names of three institutions. Shortly thereafter, the cyber cell received another email listing three additional schools. As a precautionary measure, authorities initiated the evacuation of the affected schools and began extensive security checks. Barnala Senior Superintendent of Police Mohammad Sarfaraz Alam stated that a total of six schools were named in the emails, including one in the Bhadaur area. “Our teams conducted detailed searches of school premises as a precautionary step, and nothing suspicious was found,” he said. The SSP further confirmed that an FIR is being registered in the matter. Preliminary investigations indicate that the sender used a masked IP address to conceal their identity. The emails also reportedly contained references to Khalistan, apparently intended to create panic among the public. To reassure students, staff, and parents, Barnala Deputy Commissioner Harpreet Singh, along with the SSP, visited the schools and interacted with those present to ease concerns. Meanwhile, similar threat emails were also reported from several schools in Chandigarh on Thursday morning. Following the alerts, police authorities were immediately informed, and bomb disposal squads, fire brigade teams, and other security personnel were deployed to the locations. At the time of filing this report, no suspicious objects had been recovered, and all searched premises were declared safe. Sources indicated that the emails contained provocative content aimed at spreading fear. Officials also noted that similar threats had been received earlier this month. On April 7, several prominent schools, including St. Stephen’s School (Sector 45), Government Model School (Sector 35), Shivalik Public School (Sector 41), and Ryan International School (Sector 49), received threatening emails from an unidentified sender. These messages included threats of grenade attacks at Chandigarh University and Gandhi Bhawan of Panjab University, as well as bomb blasts at the Mayor’s office and the Secretariat. Authorities continue to investigate the origin of these emails while maintaining heightened vigilance across educational institutions.