Faridabad education officer withdraws letter on ‘Love Jihad’ after calling it clerical mistake

Faridabad: District Education Officer (DEO) of Faridabad Anshu Singla on Thursday withdrew a letter that asked schools to watch students who are allegedly missing classes and are being involved in “anti-social” and “love jihad” activities. The officer said the letter was sent out because of a “clerical error”.

The letter, that was issued on Wednesday and sent to all government and private school heads in the district, claimed that some students were leaving school during class hours and were gathering in parks and engaging in activities that “disturb the social environment.”

Also Read

Bengaluru: Businessman CJ Roy"s death during IT raids - Here is all you need to know about the case

Noida International Airport ready, says UP CM Yogi Adityanath, likely to be inaugurated by PM this month

Kavitha: Wrong of KTR to find faults with SIT questioning in phone-tapping case

Speaking to The Indian Express, Singla said, “There is no case of love jihad in the district. The letter was released by mistake because of a clerical oversight.” The notice, which spread widely on social media, had mentioned that the officer’s office had received a complaint and warned schools that disciplinary action could be taken if such a matter came up again.

Explaining the situation, Singla said, “The same person had filed a similar complaint earlier, before I joined. This time, he sent it again through the Chief Minister’s online complaint portal to draw attention. While preparing a reply, my clerical staff copied the same language and heading from his complaint. I failed to notice it before the letter was issued. There is no such issue in Faridabad. A few students skipping school sometimes has nothing to do with this.”

The earlier letter had also directed schools to make WhatsApp groups with parents to monitor daily attendance. It said, “Schools must create WhatsApp groups for each class using parents’ mobile numbers. Within half an hour of classes starting, teachers should mark attendance and share the list of absent students in the group.”

Add TV9 English As A Trusted Source

On Thursday, the Education Department issued another statement, confirming that the earlier letter had been cancelled. The department said the letter had only been issued as part of the process to respond to a complaint received through the CM Window portal and that no official complaint on this matter existed in their records.

The clarification note stated: “A complaint was received on the CM Window portal regarding students from some government and private schools in Faridabad missing classes and engaging in anti-social and love jihad activities in parks. To prepare an action report for the portal, a letter was issued. However, no such complaint has actually been recorded in the Education Department. Hence, the letter has been cancelled immediately.”