Bomb threat emails to Mumbai mayor’s office, three Navi Mumbai schools trigger security alert
The email, which referred to ‘Khalistan’, also claimed that there would be an attack during singer Diljit Dosanjh’s concert on November 27 in the Mahalaxmi Racecourse area | Photo credit: The Hindu
Bomb threat emails targeting the Mumbai mayor’s office and three VIBGYOR schools in Navi Mumbai triggered a security alert on Friday (October 23, 2026), prompting a police search and the early dispersal of students from the Airoli school. Actor Amitabh Bachchan’s residence in the South and the Mahalaxmi Racecourse, where singer Diljit Dosanjh is scheduled to perform on November 27, were also mentioned in the threats.
An email received by the mayor’s office at around 11:31 a.m. threatened a grenade attack on the school on October 31 and an explosion at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse on November 27. The report also referred to Khalistan and named several individuals and organizations. The police are investigating its authenticity and origin.
After being tipped off, police searched the mayor’s office, currently headed by Ritu Tawde, but found nothing suspicious. Security measures were also initiated at the civic directorate, educational institutions and the racecourse.
Navi Mumbai schools have been evacuated as a precaution
Meanwhile, VIBGYOR schools in Airoli, Belapur and Kharghar received bomb threat emails, prompting a search of their premises. The Airoli branch has suspended classes early and school management has informed parents that authorities are conducting a thorough search. Parents were asked to pick up their children on school grounds while school buses drove under police supervision.
A formal complaint was lodged at the police station in Rabala. Senior Superintendent of Police Balakrishna Sawant said, “Police teams rushed to the school immediately after receiving the alert and facilitated an early dispersal of the students. We are investigating the source and sender of the email.”
Senior Superintendent of Police, Belapur Police Station Arun Pawar confirmed similar threats at two other branches: “Bomb threat emails were sent to Belapur and Kharghar VIBGYOR schools and Airoli branch. We conducted extensive checks across the campus and found nothing suspicious. Our teams are actively investigating who sent these emails.”
Police are investigating the origin of the emails
An email sent to the mayor’s office, purportedly from an account identifying the sender as Smith Johnson, also referenced the 1984 anti-Sikh violence while threatening prominent individuals and public places. Police found no connection between the sender and the organizations listed in the report.
DCP (Zone 1) Maneesh Kalwaniya said the mayor had received three similar threatening emails in recent months, describing them as a recurring pattern of fake threats targeting prominent public institutions. He said no further security deployment is planned for Bachchan or Dosanjh at this stage.
Mumbai Crime Branch and Cyber Police are working to trace the sender. Police have not determined whether the threats to the mayor’s office and the three schools came from the same source.
Published – 23 Oct 2026 17:54 IST