'Five disposal squads, 18 detection teams on ground': Delhi Police files status report on bomb hoax threats

New Delhi [India], May 17 : The Delhi Police on Thursday filed a status report before the Delhi High Court in connection with the recent hoax bomb threats in the national capital and stated that five bomb disposal squads (BDS) have been deployed and 18 bomb detection teams (BDTs) are also present in each district, at IGI airport, railway, and metro.
This status report has been filed pursuant to an order passed by the bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad on May 6, 2024. This matter is coming up for a hearing on May 20.
Delhi police have stated that 5 BDS are located at the Central Range, Eastern Range, New Delhi Range, and Southern Range, and one BDS for Railway and Metro.
It is also stated that 1,764 schools fall under the Central Range, 1,032 in the Eastern Range, 1,762 in the Eastern Range, and 76 in the New Delhi Range.
Delhi police have stated that one BDT is in each of 15 districts, one each at IGI airport, Railway unit, and Metro unit.
Earlier in April, the High Court sought a detailed status report from the Delhi government on the hoax bomb threat email incidents in private schools.
The High Court had also warned that if the status report is not filed, a joint secretary-level officer shall be present in the court.
The High Court is hearing a petition moved by advocate Arpit Bhargav, whose child studies in Delhi Public School. He has sought direction for the formulation of an action plan and its implementation in a time-bound manner due to bomb threat calls in schools in past years.
"The reply of GNCTD is necessary for laying down a proper and detailed action plan to deal with bomb threats and other disasters to ensure the safety of children studying in schools," Justice Prasad said in the order on April 1.
The bench had directed the GNCTD to file the status report positively on or before April 29.
"If the Status Report is not filed, an officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary from the Education Department shall be present in Court to explain as to why the status report has not been filed within time," the bench warned.
In May last year, the bench sought a status report from the Delhi Police. The High Court had also directed them to file an action plan for dealing with such incidents.
Advocate Beena shaw N Saini had appeared for the petitioner. Petitioner's child studies in Delhi Public school. She submitted that such incidents cause extreme trauma and stress to the parents.
The bench had called for a status report from the Delhi Police in a petition related to hoax emails about bombs.
The high court had also sought a complete action plan to deal with the issue in six weeks.
The petitioner said he is aggrieved by the inactions and lack deistical approach of Delhi Government and Delhi Police in dealing with frequent bomb threat emails received in schools in Delhi and consequent failure of authorities to ensure safety and security of children, teachers, staff and other stakeholders in schools in Delhi and to avoid its recurrence leading to extreme trauma, stress, harassment, inconvenience and fear in the mind of all including the Petitioner whose child is studying in DPS Mathura Road where one such incident took place recently on April 26, 2023.
Petitioner has sought formulation of a detailed action plan and implementation of the same by Government and Police as there is no action plan that the Petitioner could see anywhere in relation to such incidents which can cause havoc in anyone's family and can have a large impact.
The action plan is in relation to dealing with such repeated incidents of bomb threats in schools across Delhi and to prepare for regular evacuation drill and such other exercises to be undertaken for safety and security of children studying in schools who are ill equipped to deal with such disasters, the petition submitted.
Petitioner Arpit Bhargav has also sought steps that are taken by the Delhi Police in recent past to avoid repetition in future in relation to bomb threat emails received in schools in Delhi.
He has also sought a direction to Delhi Government and Delhi police to identify miscreants, take strict action against such persons and fix accountability in a time bound manner so that the regular schooling is not disturbed every now and then due to such hoax bomb threats by few who are taking the system to ransom.
In November 2022, miscreant emailed about the presence of bomb in the INDIAN SCHOOL, Sadiq Nagar. However, it turned out to be a hoax.
On April 12, 2023, email received in the INDIAN SCHOOL, Sadiq Nagar in relation to presence of bomb in the school premises.
However, as per media reports, it again turned out to be a hoax and ever since then, there has been no response from either Government and police disclosing about the steps taken to avoid recurrence of such incidents. Not only this, as per media reports, till date, Delhi police itself is not aware about the identity of the perpetrator, the petition said.
On May 11, 2023, another email was received in DPS Mathura Road in relation to presence of bomb in the school premises where the child of the Petitioner studies. However, it again turned out to be a hoax.
"Concerted efforts and mechanism needs to be put in place to eliminate the chances of such incidents being repeated again specially when the concerned area are the schools where the future generation is in the process of being nurtured," the petitioner said.
"If the children studying in schools are under repeated and constant threat, it is the collective failure of one and all to provide a safe environment to them," he added.
The petition submitted that Urgent need of the hour is to address the issue (s) raised in the instant petition without any further delay and to have a detailed action plan formulated in regard to such incidents of bomb threats in schools and implement the same in a time bound manner with detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to be followed for one and all including regular evacuation drills involving each and every parent and child, automatic intimation in case of emergency instead of manual calling, streamlining process outside schools to eliminate chance of chaos and such other improvements.