Mohali, Feb. 12 -- A fortnight after 30 Chandigarh schools received bomb threat emails, similar mails were sent out to 18 schools in Mohali district - 16 in Mohali city and one each in Zirakpur and Kharar, on Wednesday morning. All mails turned out to be a hoax, officials later confirmed. Among the prominent schools to receive the threats were Amity School, Doon School, Learning Paths School, Gurukul School, Vivek High School, Paragon School, Yadavindra Public School (YPS), St Mary's School, Manav Rachna School, Lawrence School, Gem Public School, Ram Tirath School, Shiwalik Public School and Sant Ishar Singh School, among others. The emails were received between 7.30 am to 8 am, right before most schools were to open for the day. Acting immediately, the schools sounded the police, which arrived at the campuses with anti-sabotage and bomb disposal squads and swept the area. Simultaneously, schools alerted the parents and bus operators to take the students back, and in schools where students had already arrived, they were evacuated immediately. Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harmandeep Singh Hans, who supervised the checking at schools, said, "Our teams arrived at the schools promptly. The mails were a hoax. The checking lasted nearly two-and-a-half hours. No explosives were found on any of the campuses." In all, 300 policemen, with support from additional force and specialised units from neighbouring districts and Chandigarh headquarters, were pressed into service, police said. At YPS, officials said the school followed protocol as soon as the threat was received, "We immediately informed the police and alerted parents through messages and calls. Students who were on their way to school by bus were turned back, and those arriving later were stopped at the gate. The bomb squad checked the entire campus. Our school is spread over 21 acres and we already maintain strict security arrangements, so we remained alert throughout." Parents said the communication from schools was timely. Megha, whose child studies at one of the schools that received the threat, said, "The school kept us updated via calls and messages. My child was safe at home when the email came. The police controlled the situation well." Rajeev Sharma, an IT professional, said he rushed to the school after receiving a call but was asked to stay outside. "The police reassured parents. It was handled calmly," he said. SSP Hans said the case has been referred to the cyber police station in Phase-7, and teams are working to trace the sender. The threat to the Chandigarh schools was sent on January 28, when the schools were reopening after a three-day break....