Ludhiana, Sept. 21 -- Three private schools in Ludhiana received bomb threat emails on Monday, prompting the evacuation of students and staff and extensive security search of the campuses, even as police found nothing suspicious and termed the messages a hoax.

The emails, received by schools in Model Town Extension, Dugri and Sherpur, threatened to bomb the campuses and also named Union home minister Amit Shah as a target. Shah is scheduled to address the concluding rally of the BJP's Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra in Jalandhar on September 30.

School authorities alerted the police immediately after receiving the threats. Police teams, accompanied by anti-sabotage squads, rushed to the three campuses and conducted thorough searches. Students a...