BENGALURU: Angry over a viral WhatsApp video showing a scaffold collapsing on a group of school students performing on the stage, and wrongly informing that nine of them died in that incident, a city school, to which the students belong to, has filed a complaint before the cybercrime police on Wednesday.
The incident took place in 2015 during the school’s annual day, and although the scaffold did collapse on the group of students, none died, but six students and four teachers sustained minor injuries.
The school management is now determined to find out who set it in circulation, helping it to go viral and creating panic among unsuspecting parents of the children of that school. The video on WhatsApp has been in circulation over the past 15 days. Following the video, the school has been receiving frequent calls from worried parents. Fed up with the calls, the school management filed a complaint.
Hemalatha J, president of Max Muller Public School located at Basaveshwara Nagar in Bengaluru, said, “The incident took place two and half years ago. We are surprised how and why the video is being circulated now all of a sudden. By doing this, some people are trying to tarnish the image of the school.”
She said the school filed a complaint with the cyber crime police after discussing the issue with several other school management representatives and associations of private schools. “Circulating fake or wrong messages using social media platforms is a crime. In this case, the miscreants are circulating the message and video saying nine people, including teachers and kids died, which is really disturbing. We want to know who is behind this,” explained Hemalatha.
Max Muller Public School has been running since 15 years, and during the 2015-16 school annual day function, an iron scaffold fell on the group of kids who were dancing on the stage. “This was reported in the media at that time. But why are people circulating it now?” questioned Hemalatha.
According to D Shashi Kumar, general secretary Associated Management of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka, this video is being circulated not only across India but even to countries like USA. “Hence I advised the school to file a complaint.”