CHENNAI: Bomb threats at three schools and one college in the city kept the police on their toes on Tuesday.
Though police conducted thorough checks in the schools, anxious parents took their children back home, forcing the school authorities to declare a holiday.

City police commissioner K Radhakrishnan on Tuesday issued a stern warning to pranksters, and said police would take legal action against them. Bomb detective and disposal squad (BDDS) personnel and police conducted a thorough search at Our Lady Higher Secondary School on Tondiarpet High Road and St Paul Higher Secondary School on Sathangadu High Road in Thiruvotriyur, following bomb threat calls. BDDS officials said both calls were hoaxes after searching the premises of the schools.

In another incident, Kendra Vidyalaya in Ashok Nagar received a letter that said a bomb had been planted on the school premises. Based on the complaint of the school principal, police and BDDS personnel conducted a detailed search and confirmed it was a hoax.

The Institute of Chartered Finance and Analysis College in Mogappair East received a bomb threat call, which the BDDS declared a hoax after a search of the premises.

In a press release issued here, the city police said they have advanced techniques to trace hoax calls and said pranksters would be booked and legal action initiated.