Bomb threat emails to Mumbai Mayor’s office, three Navi Mumbai schools trigger security alert

Prompted by the threat, law enforcement authorities have launched a comprehensive investigation to verify the authenticity of the message

Updated - October 24, 2026 12:59 am IST - Mumbai

The email, which made references to ‘Khalistan’, also claimed that there would be an attack during the November 27 concert of singer Diljit Dosanjh 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 police searches and the early dispersal of students from the Airoli school. The threats also mentioned actor Amitabh Bachchan’s Juhu residence and Mahalaxmi Racecourse, where singer Diljit Dosanjh is scheduled to perform on November 27.

An email received by the Mayor’s office around 11.31 a.m. threatened a grenade attack on a school on October 31 and an explosion at Mahalaxmi Racecourse on November 27. The message also referred to Khalistan and named several individuals and organisations. Police are investigating its authenticity and origin.

Following the alert, police searched the Mayor’s office, currently headed by Ritu Tawde, but found nothing suspicious. Security precautions were also initiated at the civic headquarters, educational institutions and the racecourse.

Navi Mumbai schools evacuated as precaution

Meanwhile, VIBGYOR schools in Airoli, Belapur and Kharghar received bomb threat emails, prompting searches across their premises. The Airoli branch suspended classes early, with the school management informing parents that authorities were conducting a thorough search. Parents were asked to collect their children from the school ground, while school buses operated under police supervision.

A formal complaint was lodged at Rabale police station. Senior Police Inspector Balakrishna Sawant said, “Police teams rushed to the school immediately upon receiving the alert and facilitated the early dispersal of students. We are investigating the source and sender of the email.”

Confirming similar threats at the other two branches, Belapur police station’s Senior Police Inspector Arun Pawar said, “Bomb threat emails were sent to the Belapur and Kharghar VIBGYOR schools, along with the Airoli branch. We carried out extensive checks across the premises and found nothing suspicious. Our teams are actively investigating to identify who sent these emails.”

Police probe origin of emails

The email sent to the Mayor’s office, purportedly from an account identifying the sender as Smith Johnson, also invoked the 1984 anti-Sikh violence while making threats against prominent individuals and public places. Police have not established any connection between the sender and the organisations mentioned in the message.

DCP (Zone 1) Maneesh Kalwaniya said the Mayor had received three similar threatening emails in recent months, describing them as a recurring pattern of hoax threats targeting prominent public institutions. He said no additional security deployment was planned for Bachchan or Dosanjh at this stage.

The Mumbai Crime Branch and Cyber Police are working to trace the sender. Police have not established whether the threats to the Mayor’s office and the three schools originated from the same source.

Published - October 23, 2026 05:54 pm IST

India / Concert / Mumbai / terrorism (crime) / crime

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