Bomb threat at The Palace School in Jaipur: No suspicious items found
The bomb disposal squad and dog squad were immediately deployed to the scene, and a thorough search of the premises began. According to reports, the threatening email was received on the school's official email ID on Sunday. However, since the school was closed at the time, no one noticed it.
On Monday, around 11 a.m., school staff discovered the email and immediately informed the police control room and the local police station. In response, police teams launched an extensive search operation across the entire campus. All students and staff members were safely evacuated.
Police officials stated, "On Monday, the Palace School administration received an email threatening to bomb the premises. Upon receiving the alert, police teams, accompanied by the dog squad, bomb disposal unit, and the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), promptly arrived at the scene and launched a thorough search operation. Fortunately, no suspicious object or explosive material was found during the inspection."
This is not the first such incident in Jaipur. On May 30, bomb threats were reported at the Mansarovar Metro Station and two courts in the city. Emails threatening bomb blasts were sent to the Jaipur Metro Court and a Family Court. The Family Court was searched for over four hours, while the Jaipur Metro Court was declared safe after a one-hour inspection.
Jaipur has witnessed a series of bomb threats throughout May.
On May 8, 12, and 13, threats were made to blow up the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. The email received on May 13 also included a demand for justice for a rape victim. On May 9, another bomb threat targeted Jaipur Metro, with an email warning of an explosion at both the station and inside a train. The threat mentioned retaliation following the success of "Operation Sindoor." However, investigations yielded no evidence of explosives.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
8 hours ago
- The Hindu
Sedition redux: on trampling on press freedom
Filing frivolous cases against publications and summoning journalists without proper investigation or perusal of material evidence have become a part of the police playbook in States ruled by vindictive politicians who brook no criticism. The Assam Police's decision to reportedly summon the founding editor Siddharth Varadarajan and consulting editor Karan Thapar of The Wire under Section 152, among others, of the BNS, is yet another case of the state trampling on press freedom. The fact that the summons were issued by the Guwahati Crime Branch to the journalists in a fresh sedition FIR on the same day, August 12, when the Supreme Court had issued notice on The Wire's petition challenging the constitutional validity of the new sedition law (Section 152) and had protected them from any 'coercive action' by the Assam Police, makes these actions egregious. The summons, apart from another one related to a case registered at the Morigaon Police Station, seem to pertain to a report in The Wire on Operation Sindoor. The Wire has also pointed to other disturbing issues — the summons do not carry the FIR date or provide any details of the alleged offence or include a copy of the FIR — all of which are mandatory according to the BNSS sections associated with the summons. In addition, keeping the FIRs secret and not mentioning the reasons for the summons hint at police intimidation. Critics of Section 152 had rightly feared that it was a rebranded version of the colonial-era sedition law, whose cases the Court had kept in abeyance in 2022. Section 152 has even more expansive and dangerous provisions, setting the bar much lower for prosecution than the previous sedition law. Terms such as 'knowingly' could allow for prosecution even where there was no malicious intent to cause harm, unlike Section 124A's strict requirement to prove clear intent to incite disaffection. The vague language around 'sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India' provides dangerous latitude to law enforcement agencies. Even legitimate acts such as criticism of government policy could be construed as 'endangering unity'. Without clear definitions or safeguards, Section 152 can target individuals for merely expressing opinions that authorities deem threatening. This law's invocation against journalists questioning government narratives creates a chilling effect on press freedom. The Court's intervention in The Wire's case, to examine Section 152's constitutional validity while protecting journalists from coercive action, acknowledges the potential for abuse. However, the Assam Police's defiant response suggests that without stronger judicial oversight and clearer guidelines, Section 152 will continue to be weaponised against dissent. The onus now lies on the Court to recognise the unconstitutionality of the sedition laws, in their earlier form or rebranded, which have no place in a democratic society.
Indian Express
11 hours ago
- Indian Express
Play ‘depicting burqa-clad women as terrorists' at I-Day event in Gujarat school kicks up a row
A play staged during the Independence Day programme at a municipal corporation school in Bhavnagar city, Gujarat, on August 15 has triggered a controversy over the alleged depiction of burqa-clad women as 'terrorists'. Bhavnagar District Education Officer (DEO) Hitendrasinh D Padheriya on Tuesday sent a notice to Bhavnagar Municipal School Board Administrative Officer (AO) Munjal Badmaliya seeking a factual report within seven days on the programme held at the school, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Pratmik Shala Number 51 in Kumbharwada area of Bhavnagar city. The notice was issued based on the representation made by a social organisation, Bandharan Bachav Samiti Bhavnagar, which alleged that the play 'depicted the Muslim community as terrorists' and demanded stern action against the 'teachers behind the play'. In the notice sent to Bhavnagar Municipal School Board Administrative Officer (AO) Munjal Badmaliya, the DEO sought details of the cultural programme at the school and asked whether the depiction as stated in the representation was intentional or unintentional, along with details of the function held on the school campus. Confirming the development, Padheriya told The Indian Express, 'The representation, marked to the District Collector, Municipal Commissioner and DEO on Monday, stated that there was a deliberate depiction of muslims as terrorists during the cultural programme held at the school on August 15. To find out facts and details, I have sought an explanation from the Administrative Officer within seven days.' The all-girls school in Bhavnagar with an enrollment of more than 600 students has come under spotlight after videos of the cultural programme appeared on social media. In its representation, Bandharan Bachav Samiti Bhavnagar alleged 'an attempt by the school staff to hurt religious sentiments and spread unrest in the public'. 'At Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Prathmik Shala Number 50-51 in Bhavnagar's Kumbharwada area, a play was presented by the children….. In this play, Kashmiri pilgrims as well as the Army and terrorists were depicted. In the play, girls dressed in Muslim attire (burqa) were shown as terrorists, clearly depicting the Muslim community as terrorists,' Bandharan Bachav Samiti said in the representation. The Samiti added that there is a lot of anger and protest in the Muslim community against the teachers, who, it said, showed their criminal mentality by staging such a play in the school. Speaking to The Indian Express, Jehurbhai Hussainbhai Jeja, the president of Bandharan Bachav Samiti, said, 'The Muslim community demands that all those school staff behind this act should be suspended and strict legal action should be taken so that no such unconstitutional act is committed in the future.' When contacted, the Administrative Officer, Munjal Badmaliya, said, 'The cultural programmes are held every year on January 26 and August 15. This year it was themed on Operation Sindoor and the bravery of our defence forces, and programmes were held in every school. Nothing was intentional or deliberate. We will submit our response to the notice.' There are over 30,000 students enrolled in 68 municipal schools in Bhavnagar city. This year as a part of Operation Sindoor celebration, school students sent Rakhis and letters to the soldiers from Gujarat. From Bhavnagar district alone, over 2 lakh school students have written to the soldiers from Gujarat.
Scroll.in
14 hours ago
- Scroll.in
Rush Hour: 7 dead in Maharashtra rains, ex-SC judge to be INDIA bloc VP candidate and more
We're building a brand-new studio to bring you bold ground reports, sharp interviews, hard-hitting podcasts, explainers and more. Support Scroll's studio fund today. Seven persons have died in heavy rainfall in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said. The rain also led to some rivers rising to alarming levels, he added. M u mbai and its neighbouring districts of Thane, Palghar and Raigad have been issued a red alert for very heavy rainfall on Tuesday. An orange alert has been sounded for heavy rain on Wednesday. The India Meteorological Department said that heavy rainfall will continue in the state till Thursday. Mumbai received 170 millimetres of rainfall in just eight hours on Monday. Between Friday morning and Monday evening, Mumbai had recorded over 550 mm of rain. In Delhi, the Yamuna river crossed the danger mark of 205.33 metres on Monday for the first time in two years. In 2023, the river reached an all-time high of 208.66 m on July 13, breaching embankments and causing widespread flooding in several areas along the river. Read more. The Press Club of India and the Indian Women's Press Corps criticised the Assam Police decision to file a sedition case against journalists Siddharth Varadarajan and Karan Thapar of The Wire. The first information report registered against Varadarajan, the founding editor of the news portal, and Thapar were vindictive actions, the two associations said. The press bodies demanded that the cases be immediately withdrawn. On August 12, the Assam Police's Crime Branch in Guwahati issued a summons to Varadarajan in an FIR pertaining to an article about Operation Sindoor published in The Wire. The summons came even as the Supreme Court, on the same day, had granted Varadarajan and members of the foundation running the news outlet protection from arrest in another FIR filed by the Assam Police. Former Supreme Court judge B Sudarshan Reddy will be the Opposition INDIA bloc's candidate for the vice presidential election. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge announced that the coalition had decided to nominate a joint candidate for the polls. Reddy was a judge in the Andhra Pradesh High Court in 1995 before becoming the chief justice of the Gauhati High Court in 2005. He was a judge of the Supreme Court between 2007 and 2011, when he retired. The INDIA bloc's announcement came two days after the Bharatiya Janata Party said that Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan will be the ruling National Democratic Alliance's candidate for the vice presidential election. The vice president is also the Rajya Sabha chairperson. The polls to elect the vice president are scheduled for September 9, and the result will be announced later that day. Read on. A cartoonist from Indore booked for depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in a purportedly undignified manner told the Supreme Court that he would publish an apology on social media. The court was hearing a petition filed by the cartoonist Hemant Malviya, seeking anticipatory bail in the case registered against him in Madhya Pradesh. The bench said that Malviya should publish the apology within 10 days and extended the interim protection from arrest granted to him till the next hearing. On July 15, the court had granted the cartoonist interim protection from arrest but cautioned that if he continued to share posts on social media of works deemed to be offensive, the Madhya Pradesh government would be free to take action against him. The order had come after Malviya submitted an apology for his social media post. A day earlier, the cartoonist had agreed to delete the post after being criticised by the court.
