A woman who issued bomb threat to two schools in Madurai on Friday has been arrested. Police said watchman Suresh Pandi of KVT Matriculation Higher Secondary School at Subramaniapuram received a call on the school’s landline from a mobile number.

The woman at the other end told him that a bomb is planted on the campus. When the watchman in turn wanted to know who she was, the caller refused to reveal her identity. She simply told him to save the children of the school and hung up. Pandi immediately informed the school’s administrative officer D Senthilkumar who asked him to check out for suspicious objects on the premises. He also rushed to the school, enquired the watchman and alerted the management. Soon after, Senthilkumar went to the Jaihindipuram police station at about 8.50 am and lodged a complaint based on which police registered a case.

Similarly, another school – Sri Saradha Matriculation HSS, in the city also received a bomb threat from the same mobile number, following which Thilagar Thidal police filed an FIR.

On the orders of the Commissioner of Police Mahesh Kumar Agarwal, a bomb detection and disposal squad was sent to the two schools. Sniffer dogs were also pressed into service. A thorough combing of the schools revealed that it was a hoax. Tracing the mobile number from which the call was made, police identified the caller as S Pandiselvi (31) of Madurai and arrested her. She was later remanded in judicial custody.

The Commissioner congratulated the police team that acted fast on the complaints and arrested the accused.