Dark web anonymity fuels hoax threat chaos in Delhi, baffling law enforcement agencies

More than 50 schools in Delhi have received bomb threats via email in just a week, triggering panic among students and parents. On July 18 alone, at least 40 schools were sent threatening emails warning of bombs planted on their premises.

According to Delhi Police data, north Delhi recorded four threats, including those to St Xavier’s School, IP College for Women, Hindu College and Sri Ram College of Commerce. Central district reported only one such case.

Schools targeted

Several prominent schools, including DPS Mathura Road, DPS RK Puram, DPS Vasant Vihar, The British School, Amity International School (Saket), The Heritage School (Rohini), DPS Rohini, Modern International School and Richmond Global School, were among those targeted.

Other institutions that received threats were Bharti Public School, Hamdard Public School, New Era Public School, St Xavier’s Sr Sec School, North Delhi Public School, Mira Nursery School, Delhi International Public School, Prudence Group of Schools, The Indian School (Second Shift), Mater Dei School, DIISEGDE (Delhi Institute of Social Education & Governance Development), Delhi Jain School and Junior Delhi School.

International and private schools such as Cambridge Foundation School, Doon Public School, Big Feather International School, La Petite School (Dwarka), Kothari Heritage School, SM Public School, Birla Open Minds International School, St Prayag International School, Panchsheel School, Queen Grace International School and Hansraj Model School also received the threatening emails.

Other affected institutions included Central Academy (Dwarka), Decent Public School, MJK Public School and St Dominics Public School.

‘Will erase every one of you’

The threatening email, sent to at least 45 schools, carried chilling language. The sender claimed multiple explosive devices had been placed inside classrooms, writing, “I will erase every last one of you from this world. Not a single soul will survive. I will take pleasure in watching the news, seeing parents arrive at the school only to be confronted by the cold, dismembered bodies of their children.”

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According to Delhi Police, the email sent to Richmond Global School was particularly graphic. It read, “Hello. I am writing to inform you that I have placed several explosive devices (trinitrotoluene) within school classrooms. The explosives are cleverly concealed in black plastic bags.”

The sender also referred to mental health struggles, blaming the medical system for their actions. “You all deserve to suffer. I truly hate my life. I will take my own life after the news, will slit my throat and wrists. I was never truly helped. Psychiatrists, psychologists, no one has ever cared, and no one will ever care. You only care about medicating the helpless and clueless humans… You brainwash people into thinking psychiatric medications can help them. But they don’t. I am living proof that they do not,” the email stated.

Wave of hoax threats

Friday’s bomb threats followed a string of similar incidents earlier in the week. At least seven schools received such emails on July 16, the third consecutive day of hoax threats in the capital. Bomb disposal teams and search units have been deployed to inspect the affected schools.

An official said schools that received threats on July 18 included St Xavier’s School in Civil Lines, Richmond Global School in Paschim Vihar, Abhinav Public School and The Sovereign School in Rohini.

The latest scare comes days after nearly ten schools and St Stephen’s College received similar warnings. These emails forced evacuations and extensive searches, but no explosives were found.

Dark web challenges

Cyber experts from the Delhi Police believe the perpetrators are using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and the dark web to mask their identities. “Tracking someone on the dark web is akin to pursuing a shadow in a hall of mirrors. Just when you believe you’ve found a lead, it disappears behind another layer of anonymity,” a Delhi Police officer said.

The dark web, a hidden segment of the internet not indexed by regular search engines, is often used for illegal activities such as cybercrime, drug trafficking and human trafficking. VPNs add another layer of anonymity by routing connections through multiple servers.

A police source noted that the latest emails follow a similar pattern: vague yet alarming language, sent before school hours, and often routed through international servers. “Tracing emails routed through multiple proxy servers is challenging. They employ VPN chains and dark web tools to bounce their location across several countries. In such cases, even service providers are often powerless,” the source said.

A cyber expert investigating the case said the threats are no longer being treated as pranks. “Multiple investigative agencies are involved. These threats are psychologically impacting children, parents and school staff,” the expert said.

Rajneesh Gupta, Joint Commissioner of Police, confirmed that the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of the Special Cell is working round the clock to trace the source of the emails. “We have specialised servers and a fairly advanced monitoring system, but tracking VPN servers is difficult as the connection keeps rerouting,” he said.

Previous incidents

The police recently apprehended a 12-year-old boy for allegedly sending bomb threat emails to St Stephen’s College and St Thomas School, Dwarka, on July 15. He confessed to doing it as a prank. Both institutions had to be evacuated.

In October last year, an explosion occurred outside the CRPF school in Prashant Vihar, though no injuries were reported. In January, a Class 12 student was arrested for allegedly sending bomb threats to over 400 schools. No explosives were found in any of these cases.

In February this year, a private school and a Delhi University college also received bomb threats, which were later confirmed as hoaxes.

The Directorate of Education (DoE) had issued a 115-point Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in May to handle bomb threats in schools, following the spate of hoaxes.