The Union Ministry of Education (MoE) on Wednesday (February 26, 2025) has condemned a recent claim made by Congress overseas leader Sam Pitroda that his virtual interaction with the students of ‘IIT-Ranchi’ has been hacked and objectionable content was played.
Clarifying that there is no Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Ranchi, the Ministry said Mr. Pitroda’s claims were baseless and reeked of ignorance. Further, the Ministry said it has got confirmation from Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Ranchi, that Mr. Pitroda was not invited for any conference/seminar, either physically or virtually, for delivering a lecture.
In a post on X, the MoE has said that it has come to the notice of the Ministry that Mr. Pitroda in a video posted on his X handle has said he was speaking at ‘IIT-Ranchi’ to hundreds of students and that it was hacked by someone and objectionable content was played, disrupting the event.
Further, the Education Ministry said, “Such a reckless statement seems to be an attempt to malign the image of an extremely reputed institution of the country. This institution has stood the test of time and produced some of the brightest minds in the country. Unlike such an uninformed person, IITs reputation is built on the merit, hardwork, and achievement of many students, teachers, and academia.”
Against this backdrop, the MoE has warned of legal repercussions against any such attempt made to tarnish the image of premier institutions of the country.
