Indore College Students Spark Rumours of Principal’s Death, Then This Happened

Indore: A few students of a prestigious government college in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, landed in legal trouble after they posted a fake letter about their principal's "death" in a bid to stall exams, a police

official said on Thursday. However, the move backfired when the letter grabbed the attention of the masses on social media. According to Bhanwarkuan police station in-charge Rajkumar Yadav said the case was filed on Wednesday night against two third-semester Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) students based on a complaint from Dr Anamika Jain, principal of the Government Holkar Science College, reported news agency PTI. He informed that the FIR was registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 336(4) (intentionally fabricating a false document with intent to defame a person), a provision which attracts imprisonment up to three years and also a fine if convicted. The two accused, as part of an alleged conspiracy to halt online exams for regular assessments of students and postpone classes, created a false letter claiming the "death" of the college principal and circulated it on social media on October 14, according to the police officer.

'Relatives Visited Home to Express Condolence': Principal

A college official said the letter, titled "Important Information," was created by copying the institute's letterhead and stated that due to the "sudden demise" of Principal Jain, online exams scheduled for October 15-16 have been postponed and classes for all subjects have also been suspended. When contacted, Jain told PTI, "My family and I are extremely distressed after this fake letter was circulated on social media. Believing the letter to be genuine, many people even visited my home to express their condolences." She said the police should take strict legal action against the two accused to prevent such incidents in the future. Without naming anyone, the principal alleged some disgruntled elements in the college have been harassing her through various malicious activities in an attempt to prevent her from discharging her official duties.(With PTI Inputs)