Chandigarh, Aug 3: A 16-year-old boy, Harshit Sharma, from a government school in Chandigarh was the toast of online media and Twitterati on Tuesday after word spread on the internet that he had landed a designer's job in Google for an annual salary of Rs 1.44 crore. By late evening however there was a big question mark on Sharma's 'achievements'. Many wondered if the entire story was hoax after Google officially told that it had no information on the boy's candidacy.
"Currently, we don't have any information on our records with respect to Harshit Sharma's candidacy," a Google spokesperson said.
Word about the boy's so-called achievements had spread after his school - Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 33 - issued an official release that the boy had got the job. But when TOI spoke to principal Indra Beniwal, she said, "The student passed out from our school this year and he had come to the campus to inform us about the Google offer. He had sent me the letter on WhatsApp mentioning his recruitment with Google but I deleted the letter by mistake."
According to Beniwal Harshit had come to school a fortnight ago to inform her about him getting the job. On being asked the content of the letter, she said, "The letter had mentioned that Google had hired the boy. I am trying to get the letter. Once I get the letter, I will inform you."
A student of science stream with IT as a subject, the principal said that the boy was academically average though, she said, he was good at practicals. Interestingly, the principal told TOI that he had received Rs 7,000 earlier as well as a reward for the Digital India campaign. Exactly, why he was given the money is not clear.
TOI tried to contact the boy, who is originally from Kurukshetra, but his phone was switched off. Sources also said Google does not recruit from schools.
The school's official release on July 29 read, "Harshit, a student of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 33 of Class 12(IT stream) has been selected by tech giant Google for graphic designing. Initially, he will be trained for a one-year period for which he will receive a stipend of Rs 4 lakh per month. On completion of training, he will get remuneration of Rs 12 lakhs per month. He was interviewed through video conferencing and was selected on the basis of posters designed by him. Principal, Indra Beniwal lauded him on his achievement."
The department of public relations, Chandigarh administration later issued the same press release adding further credence to the news.
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