Galgotias University blames 'ill-informed' Prof. Neha Singh for robodog row, apologises for 'confusion'

Galgotias University on Wednesday issued a major statement after Professor Neha Singh—one of its faculty members—falsely claimed ownership over a Chinese robodog first, and then a South Korean soccer drone at the India AI Impact Summit 2026.

Labelling her as "ill-informed", the Noida-based university apologised for what it called "confusion".

"She was not aware of the technical origins of the product and in her enthusiasm of being on camera, gave factually incorrect information even though she was not authorised to speak to the press," Galgotias University wrote in an X post amid widespread backlash over the two clips of Singh making the claims.

The university also declared that there had been "no institutional intent" to misrepresent the innovation.

However, it does not specify the name of the product it has been accused of plagiarising. The university has now agreed to vacate its pavilion at the Summit.

In the meantime, some netizens have also tried to fact-check the official statement, with one user alleging in the Community Notes that the university was "trying to deflect blame on innocent and tech illiterate faculty member".

"Faculty clearly mentions a name 'Orion' which seems to be a strategic decision taken by university to showcase their own technological prudence," the X user added.

This comes after the university had said earlier that it had never claimed to have created the robodog, which was purchased from Chinese firm Unitree and was used by the students to “test its limits and in the process, expand their knowledge".

However, netizens and even media outlets refused to accept it, citing videos of Neha Singh—claiming that the robodog, which she called 'Orion', was produced in-house, as was the "soccer drone"—which went viral.

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra also attacked Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw after the latter allegedly deleted a post celebrating the robodog as one of "Bharat's sovereign models".

"Quit the chair if you can’t do your job. Maybe join Galgotia as Professor of Spin?" she wrote on X with a screenshot of Vaishnaw's alleged post.