A video is going viral on social media, claiming that a Hindu woman was appointed as the principal of a government school in Karnataka, but the Christian staff in the school did not allow her to sit in the principal’s chair. Instead, a Christian woman was made to sit in her place. In the video, we can see a woman being forcibly lifted from a chair by a few people standing nearby, who then make another woman sit on the chair and start clapping. Through this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: In Karnataka, a Hindu woman was appointed as the principal of a government school, but the Christian staff did not allow her to sit in the principal’s chair.
Fact: The visuals in the viral video show an incident that occurred on 02 July 2024, at Bishop Johnson Girls School in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. There is no communal angle involved in this incident. Both the removed principal and the new principal are Christians. According to reports, the woman who was forcibly removed from her seat is Parul Solomon. She was removed from the post of principal in February 2024 on charges of being involved in the UPPSC’s RO-ARO paper leak case. After her dismissal, Sherlyn Massey was appointed as the new principal. However, when Massey came to take charge, Parul Solomon locked the door from inside and resisted vacating the principal’s seat, leading to a commotion in her chamber, as seen in the video. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
To learn more about the viral video, we conducted a Google reverse image search using keyframes from the video. This search led us to a news report featuring an extended version of the viral video uploaded on the YouTube channel of ‘NDTV’ on 06 July 2024, titled “Bishop Johnson School Prayagraj | Principal Forcibly Removed From Office, Her Replacement Watches.” According to this video report, the visuals show a group of school staff, led by the institution’s chairman, forcibly removing the principal from her seat and making the newly appointed principal sit at Bishop Johnson Girls School in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
Taking this as a cue, we conducted a relevant keyword search to learn more about this incident. This search led us to several news reports (here, here, here, & here). According to these reports, the incident took place on 02 July 2024, at Bishop Johnson Girls School in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. The woman who was forcibly removed from her seat is Parul Solomon. She was removed from the post of principal in February 2024 on charges of being involved in the UPPSC’s RO-ARO paper leak case. Bishop Maurice Edgar Dan, representing the Diocese of Lucknow, which runs the school, also accused her of stealing ₹2.40 crore from the school during her tenure as principal.
After her dismissal, Sherlyn Massey was appointed as the new principal. However, when Massey came to take charge, Parul Solomon locked the door from inside and resisted vacating the principal’s seat. This led to a commotion in her chamber, as seen in the video, when a group of school staff, led by the institution’s chairman, forcibly removed her from the chair, allowing the new principal, Sherlyn Massey, to take her place. Reports further stated that Parul Solomon, the expelled principal, had filed a case against several individuals, including NL Dan, Bishop Maurice Edgar Dan, and others seen in the video. From all this information, it is evident that the viral video shows an incident from Uttar Pradesh that took place in a school run by a Christian missionary society and there is no communal angle involved in this incident. Both the removed principal and the new principal are Christians.
FIR filed in this incident can be viewed here. The case was filed under BNS section 121 (Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 324 (4) (Whoever commits mischief and thereby causes loss or damage to the amount of twenty thousand rupees and more but less than one lakh rupees), 333 (House-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), 351 (2) (Whoever commits the offence of criminal intimidation), 309 (4) (robbery) and BSA section 74 (Public and private documents), 76 (Proof of documents by production of certified copies).
To sum up, a video of an incident at a school in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, is being shared with a false communal narrative linking it to Karnataka.
