A Class 10 student in Bengaluru was taken into custody on Tuesday, July 19, in connection with a hoax bomb threat that was sent to National Hill View Public School.
Tension prevailed at the school on Monday after it received a bomb threat via email, prompting the school to evacuate all students and declare a holiday.The school administration had notified the police, who dispatched a bomb disposal team to the school. Laxman B Nimbargi, DCP West Bengaluru, informed the media that the bomb threat was deemed a hoax and that there were no traces of suspicious items. Nimbargi informed PTI that the student had created an e-mail address in the name of “Huchcha Venkat,” a Kannada film actor, and had sent the hoax bomb threat. Nimbargi declined to provide further information as the student taken into custody in the case is a minor.
According to the police, the boy is a Class 10 student and had sent out the bomb threat to get his exams postponed. As word of the bomb threat spread, worried parents gathered outside the school on Monday, where the school authorities had said that the police had evacuated over 1,500 students as a preventative measure. In response to the bomb threats, Home Minister Araga Jnanendra had assured that the police were conducting a thorough investigation.
Earlier in April, similar hoax bomb threats had triggered tension, as the threats were made to at least eight schools in Bengaluru. An email was sent to the schools in April this year claiming that a “very powerful bomb” had been placed in the schools. The police were informed immediately after the emails were received and searches were conducted by the bomb squad within the premises of the schools. Later on, it was ruled out as a hoax. The police had then remarked that such calls have been made in the past as well, especially during exam time, by students hoping that their exams will get postponed.
