May 05, 2024 12:40 PM IST
Over 200 schools in Delhi-NCR Wednesday morning received a hoax bomb threat via e-mail which led to widespread panic among parents and students.
In a bid to uncover the source of the recent bomb threat emails sent to over 200 schools in Delhi-NCR, the Delhi Police is likely to approach the Union home ministry and subsequently the court to send a Letter Rogatory (LR) to Russia, The Times of India reported. This LR – a judicial request – aims to gather details regarding the email ID used to dispatch the threats, a crucial step in their investigation.
The police have already approached the National Central Bureau (NCB) in Moscow and Russian mailing service company Mail.ru via Interpol to trace the exact source of the e-mails.
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During the investigations, police found that a school in south Delhi had also received a hoax threat e-mail in 2023 where the sender had used the same mail service, mail.ru. At that time, an LR was sent on May 12, reported TOI. The Russian authorities had promptly replied to the request indicating that the IP address was traced back to Austria, with the sender using a virtual private network (VPN) to mask their location.
“Russia promptly replied and informed us that the IP used by the sender was 188.172.220.76, based in Austria. A virtual private network was used,” the report quoted an unnamed senior officer as saying.
Read: Delhi hoax bomb threat: Mail sent using Russia domain, masked by VPN
However, according to a cyber security expert, tracking the IP address and details of the sender could become difficult if he has used the VPN or proxy server for sending the e-mail, reported PTI.
“There are many mailing services including ‘mail.ru’, which provide the facility to make your account without authentication and verification. It also gives the facility to make a temporary e-mail,” the expert said, as quoted by PTI.
Earlier this week, more than 200 schools in Delhi-NCR received identical bomb threat e-mails, triggering massive evacuations and searches as panic-stricken parents rushed to pick up their children.
Read: Schools reopen in Delhi-NCR amid tight security day after bomb threat mails
PCR vehicles were rushed to schools, and district police, BDS, MAC, Special Cell and Crime Control Room, DDMA, NDRF, Fire CATS and several other agencies were alerted. However, nothing was found during searches by authorities which later declared it a mass hoax.
The FIR has been registered at Special Cell Police Station under IPC sections 505 (2) (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes), 507 (criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication), and 120 (B) (punishment of criminal conspiracy).
With inputs from agencies
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