‘False post’ on teachers counting stray dogs: Delhi Police lodges FIR on DoE complaint

The complaint also listed the handles which shared the post further. (File photo)

The Delhi Police’s Cyber Cell has registered an FIR following a complaint filed by the Delhi government’s Directorate of Education (DoE) regarding an alleged “false, misleading, and malicious” post claiming that “teachers will count stray dogs”.

According to a police officer, the complaint was received on January 1 from the DoE  and the FIR was registered against unknown persons at the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit under relevant sections of the BNS and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act.

Director (Education) Veditha Reddy had earlier told mediapersons that no such directive was issued. “The teachers are only involved in academic activities. The false narrative is mischievous,” she added.

In its complaint, the DoE said the circular dated November 20, 2025, was issued solely in compliance with the Supreme Court’s directions in a suo motu writ petition, titled ‘City hounded by strays, kids pay price’, to ensure safety of students and prevent stray dogs entry by deploying security staff.

It stated that there was no mention of any counting of stray dogs in the said circular, and that no such direction has ever been issued by the Department of Education.

The complaint states, “It has been seen that deliberate attempts have been made for spreading false and fabricated news with malafide intent, causing, confusion and panic among teachers and school staff, damage to the reputation of the Education Department, disruption of public order and trust in government institution, dissemination of false and mis information and breach of social responsibility.”

“… impersonation of some individuals as a teacher counting stray dogs has also been seen on social media, which needs to be immediately investigated and appropriate legal and criminal action should be taken,” it added.

The police officer said the complaint was initially filed at the Civil Lines police station in the North District and was later transferred to the IFSO unit.