28 schools in Ahmedabad and Vadodara evacuated after hoax bomb threats

At least 28 schools in the Gujarat cities of Ahmedabad and Vadodara received bomb‑threat emails on Monday morning , forcing the immediate evacuation of campuses and extensive security operations , officials said. Authorities have so far found no evidence of explosives or suspicious devices , but the incident has sparked a large‑scale cybercrime and security investigation .

District Education Officer Rohit Chaudhary said more than 15 schools in Ahmedabad were targeted with the threatening messages, and that all affected institutions were instructed to alert nearby police stations and follow established safety protocols. Vadodara Police Commissioner Narasimha Komar said 13 schools in different localities of Vadodara received similar emails and all were promptly cleared.

Police, Special Operations Group (SOG) officers, Crime Branch teams, Bomb Detection and Disposal Squads (BDDS) and canine units carried out “sanitisation exercises” — thorough sweeps of campuses, classrooms, vehicles and other sensitive areas — before students and staff were allowed to return home. Authorities reiterated that nothing suspicious has been found so far, and that the safety of pupils and teachers remained the top priority.

A case has been registered with the cybercrime police to trace the origin of the emails and identify the sender, Komar said, adding that while the threats appear to be mischievous or hoax emails , the investigation will be pursued seriously.

Prominent institutions reported to have received threatening emails include DAV International School, Asia School, Ankur International School, and Sant Kabir School in Ahmedabad , and D R Amin School, Urmi School, Baroda High School and Don Bosco in Vadodara . Police said other schools, buses and parked vehicles within campuses were checked as part of precautionary measures.

This incident comes just a few weeks after a January 23 bomb‑threat hoax in Ahmedabad in which several schools received similar emails that were later determined to be false. Authorities said patterns in the timing and distribution of these threats have raised questions about whether coordinated campaigns are behind them, and cybercrime investigators are analysing email content, routing and metadata to uncover leads.Security experts and law‑enforcement sources note that recent weeks have seen a rise in hoax bomb threats to schools and public institutions in various parts of India , including in the Delhi‑NCR region , where police and bomb squads were mobilised earlier this month after multiple schools received false warnings. These recurring threats, while often unsubstantiated, have forced repeated evacuations, disrupting schedules and straining local resources.