Viral social media posts claiming Delhi Public School (DPS) Society is selling face masks to its students at an exorbitant rate of Rs 400 each are fake. BOOM contacted DPS board member Mansoor Ali Khan who refuted the claims and said that "it could be an act of mischief by some vendor". The DPS has also filed a police complaint regarding the viral message, Khan told BOOM.
The posts have gone viral at a time when speculations about reopening of schools - with 30 per cent attendance - in July have been doing the rounds on social media. However, putting these speculations to rest, Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriya had finally announced on June 7 that schools and colleges will be opened after August 2020.
The viral post shares the picture of a mask with the words Delhi Public School and DPS printed on it. The off-white coloured mask also bears the logo of DPS. A Hindi message with the viral post reads 'Here's DPS' cooperation to the nation...every student will have to buy this mask for Rs 400. These people have crossed the limits of loot. Even the best of n95 mask comes for a maximum of Rs 100 or Rs 150. These private schools should be called the slaughterhouses of humanity. Is the government not responsible to curb this loot?'
(Hindi: डीपीएस ने चालू कर दिया देश सहयोग,,,₹400 में हर छात्र को यह मास्क लेना पड़ेगा सोचिए लूट की हद कर दी इन कमीने लोगों ने बढ़िया से बढ़िया n95 मास्क भी ₹100 या 150 तक मिलता है इन प्राइवेट स्कूलों को स्कूल न कह के मानवता का कसाईखाना घोषित करना चाहिए। क्या सरकार की ज़िम्मेदारी नही बनती,,,, इनके खिलाफ action लेना?)
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Facebook posts can be seen here and here. Access the archived versions here and here.
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Fact Check
BOOM came across news reports about the school refuting the viral claim. We then contacted Mansoor Ali Khan, a board member of DPS Bangalore and Mysore, who refuted these claims. "The schools are closed as per government orders. This must be an act of mischief by some vendor from where the photo has gone viral," he told BOOM.
Khan further added, "These social media claims are false as none of our schools have manufactured the mask. At least in DPS Bangalore and Mysore, no such notification have been issued to parents." Khan also told BOOM that the mask seen in the viral post with the logo of DPS could be a dummy made by a vendor, not related to DPS. "A vendor might have done this to boost their sale. The logo of DPS is readily available on the internet," Khan added.
The board has lodged a cyber crime complaint against miscreants in Varthur and Kumaraswamy Layout Police stations in Bengaluru for using the logo and name of DPS. Further, a message has also been sent to all the parents clarifying DPS' stand on the issue, Khan added.
Read the message below.
BOOM also contacted the principal of DPS Manali, Himachal Pradesh, Avinder Bali. He said,"In Manali, we do not sell stationery items because the government doesn't allow us to. I also came across some Facebook posts from DPS Agra where they have denied selling of face masks."
We reached out to Sunil Agarwal, vice-chairman of DPS Rajnagar in Ghaziabad, and Agra. "Someone has mischievously done this to defame DPS. Nearly 100 branches have refuted this. We have also sent an advisory to parents to not fall prey to such fake posts," he told BOOM.
We further reached out to Sandeep Batham, a resident of Kolar Road, Bhopal, whose son studies in DPS Kolar Road, Bhopal. Batham confirmed that they received a WhatsApp message from the school asking parents not to fall for such messages on social media. Below is the screenshot of the same.
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BOOM, however, could not independently verify the image of the mask with a printed DPS logo that is viral.
