ITANAGAR, 2 Jul: A group of seven Class 10 and Class 12 toppers from Tirap district has alleged that they were given “old and used” laptops during the 2021-’22 academic toppers award programme here.
They refused to accept the old and used laptops, and returned the devices to the DC office.
The students said that “the physical condition/hardware as well as the internal data/software of the received laptops suggests that these devices (laptops) are old or have been used by previous owners.”
“Upon our preliminary observation, the laptops showed severe signs of wear and tear, scratches, ill fitment, malfunctioning of the charging slots and batteries, abuse of internal storage with vulgar Bollywood videos, voice recording and the names and signatures of previous users,” the recipients said in a complaint letter to the Tirap DC.
Stating that “there might have been foul play by some departmental official(s) or office in the scheme,” the students vehemently condemned the “demotivating and fraudulent act,” and appealed to the DC to initiate a thorough inquiry into the matter.
Meanwhile, DC Hento Karga said that the laptops in question were “centralised supply from the school education directorate.
“The district authorities had just received and distributed the laptops,” the DC said.
“It is already verified by the board and found unfit for future use. The matter will be thoroughly examined on Monday on the basis and findings of the board,” Karga added.
