[ad_1]
The Delhi government’s Directorate of Education (DOE) has lodged a formal complaint with the police, seeking legal action over alleged misinformation being spread on social media over a circular appointing nodal officers for matters related to stray dogs.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Chief Minister accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of spreading fake news on the matter.
There was no immediate response from you.
Addressing a press conference, Director of Education Vedita Reddy said misinformation was being spread that the directorate had issued instructions to teachers to count stray dogs near their institutions.
“This is completely false and fabricated. No such instructions were issued. The directorate has issued a statement refuting it.”
“Teachers are only involved in educational activities. The false narrative is mischievous,” he said.
Noting that “misinformation” has created confusion and misled parents and teachers, he alleged that some people were impersonating teachers and counting dogs and making videos on social media.
“We have compiled digital evidence, posts and timelines. A formal complaint has been filed with the Delhi Police,” he said.
The complaint lodged at the Civil Lines police station said that “false, misleading and malicious information is being circulated on social media platforms by unknown/mischievous persons regarding an alleged instruction that school teachers need to count stray dogs”.
“It has been observed that there have been deliberate attempts to spread false and fabricated news with ill intentions, causing confusion and panic among teachers and school staff, damaging the reputation of the education department and damaging public order and confidence in government institutions,” the complaint said.
It also said that misinformation has been spread and social responsibility has been violated.
“There is no mention of counting of stray dogs in the said circular. In this regard, the Education Department has also officially clarified… that no such instructions have ever been issued by the Directorate of Education.
“Furthermore, impersonation of some persons as teachers counting stray dogs has also been seen on social media, which should be immediately investigated and appropriate legal and criminal action should be taken,” the complaint said.
The government has also shared a list of social media handles spreading misinformation.
The DoE said the action attracts provisions of sections 353(2) (defamation by publishing false statements prejudicial to the reputation of a public authority or its officers) and 196 (making and circulating statements causing public mischief or fear) of the Indian Code of Justice (BNS).
Other sections of the BNS mentioned in the complaint are sections 221 and 299 (forgery and false electronic material intended to cause harm to reputation), and sections 66D (fraud and impersonation using electronic means) and 67 (publishing or transmitting objectionable and misleading material electronically) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
In the complaint, the DoE has requested that an FIR be registered and a thorough investigation be conducted to “identify the originators and forwarders of the false content”.
Reacting to the development, the Chief Minister said in a post on X, “The Education Department has lodged a formal complaint at the Civil Lines Police Station, taking strict action against the fake news being spread by the Aam Aadmi Party. This is a serious and deliberate attempt to demoralize our dedicated teachers and deliberately create mistrust in the education system of Delhi.”
He said that such ‘deception’ against Delhi will not be tolerated.
“The politics of lies will not be tolerated at all and anyone responsible for it will be held fully accountable under the law,” he said in the same post.
A senior police officer said the case will be investigated by the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of Delhi Police.
A political tussle had erupted over the order to appoint nodal officers by schools to deal with cases related to stray dogs.
On December 30, Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood rejected claims that teachers have been deployed to handle cases related to stray dogs around their educational institutions.
He alleged that AAP leaders were spreading misinformation on social media and claiming that teachers were being removed from their academic responsibilities and engaged in non-teaching work.
Speaking on the issue, former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said in a post in
Alleging that education is not an issue for the BJP, he said the ruling party is “insulting teachers and ruining schools”.
[ad_2]
