‘Teachers to count stray dogs’ claim: Police lodge FIR, BJP-AAP spar over post

On Friday, Education Minister Ashish Sood also held a press conference and said a police complaint had been filed and an FIR would be registered.

In response, AAP leader Sanjiv Jha said the party isn’t afraid of the FIR.

“We are showing two circulars issued by the Delhi government’s Education Department. One circular, issued on November 20 by the Care Taking Branch of the Directorate of Education, states that nodal officers will be appointed in every school for the management of stray dogs. The second circular, issued on December 5, orders all educational institutions, schools, and stadiums to submit details of their nodal officers, describes it as ‘most urgent,’ and directs that information related to stray dogs be provided at the earliest,” Jha claimed in a statement.

“We are also showing a third order issued by the Deputy Director of Education of the Northwest District, which contains a complete list of teachers appointed as nodal officers in different schools. For example, in Mukherjee Nagar, New Police Line, a TGT teacher has been appointed as the nodal officer. Similarly, the list includes the names of several PGT and TGTs,” Jha claimed.

“If these orders are not from the Education Department, then who issued the December 5 circular and what action will be taken? Were these orders issued without the knowledge and instructions of the Director of Education or the Education Minister?” he added.

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.

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.

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 complaint also listed the handles which shared the post further.