With fear looming over the national Capital since May last year due to a spate of bomb threats, the Delhi Police on Friday revealed that they have detained a Class 12 student for allegedly sending bomb threats to more than 23 schools in the city over the past few weeks as he did not want to write his exams.

More than 15 educational institutions including Lady Shri Ram College across the national Capital received bomb threats, which later turned out to be hoaxes. Since May last year, more than 100 schools have been receiving bomb threats through mails.

Police sources said the south district police apprehended the Class 12 student, a minor, Thursday evening in connection with the threats. According to police sources, the content of the mail received on Wednesday mentioned that since exams are going on in the schools, this will be the best time to strike and create maximum damage.

Earlier in the day, officials said police will address a press conference at its headquarters to share more details but it was later cancelled. The sources said the accused had sent bomb threats to 23 different schools as he did not want to take school examinations. He used this method to trigger panic.

“The student got the idea from previous incidents and hatched a plan to change his IP address by using Virtual Private Network (VPN) and send threat e-mails to different schools. Further investigation is underway,” said a source.

This development comes after recent reports revealed that students from within at least three Delhi schools were responsible for bomb threats targeting their institutions. According to a police official from the Delhi Police special cell, an investigation uncovered that two siblings within one of the schools had orchestrated the threats in an attempt to delay their exams. During counseling, the students admitted to being inspired by past bomb threat incidents. Both students were later released after their parents received strict warnings.

Similar incidents were also reported in schools located in Rohini and Paschim Vihar, where students were found to have sent threatening emails.

Since May, more than 50 bomb threat emails have targeted not only schools but also hospitals, airports, and airline companies across Delhi, creating widespread concern and fear.