A cracker of an alarm

A fire-cracker tied with a string to an alarm clock and packaged to resemble a bomb sparked off panic at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Sion this morning. Both police and the school authorities believe it was some student’s idea of having a blast.

‘‘Some students heard a ticking sound in the second-floor toilet. They immediately brought it to the notice of their teacher, who informed the principal,’’ said Additional Commissioner of Police (Central Region) R.T. Rathod.

The school premises was evacuated and the bomb squad combed the toilets and traced the ticking sound to an overhead flush tank. The ‘‘bomb’’ was then fished out and its contents examined. Four sutli firecrackers were found tied together with a pair of black wires, their free ends placed under a small alarm clock. ‘‘When we find out who did this, we will surely take action against him for creating panic,’’ the principal said.