January 18, 2008	Friday	Muharram 08, 1429

HYDERABAD, Jan 17: Panicked parents took their children back home on Thursday hardly a few minutes after dropping them at their schools following rumours that terrorists had planted bombs in around half a dozen private schools of the city.

Three schools where educational activities were badly affected due to rumours are located in a row in Qasimabad and the rest are in Cantonment area.

Worried parents called the managements of schools and asked about the bomb rumours. The schools then called police stations and Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) and the rumours proved baseless after they found nothing during search of the schools premises.

A branch of a well-known chain of private schools in Qasimabad received disturbing calls from some parents at around 7.45 am, 10 minutes before the school was scheduled to open at 7.55 am. The parents were assured by the school but they kept calling one after the other and finally started arriving at the school to take back their kids.

“We didn’t close the school but parents arrived to take back their children. We will close the school as per scheduled timing of 2.20 pm,” said Samina Junejo, an official at the school.

It did create panic after police and BDS officials arrived in the school and carried out search of the premises, which confirmed the rumour was just a hoax.

Prof. Dilshad Akhund, headmistress of a school in Cantonment area, said that some parents started calling her at around 11.30 that they had heard about bomb rumours. “I immediately called police and BDS, who searched the premises that continued till 12 noon,” she said. She blamed the forces who did not want to see Pakistan a progressive country for spreading such rumours and said she did not close the school but worried parents took their children back home.

Another school in Qasimabad, branch of an old chain of private schools, received calls about bomb from some parents and announced holiday for Friday to let the students relax after a strenuous day.