Patna HC flags ‘snakes in food’ in Bihar mid-day meal case

The Patna High Court flagged serious lapses after 189 children fell ill in Saharsa under the PM POSHAN scheme, noting alleged recovery of “small snakes” in meals and ordering a probe into sampling, testing and food safety procedures

Patna: The Patna High Court has flagged the recovery of “small snakes” from food plates in one of the two government schools in Bihar’s Saharsa district, where a total of 189 children fell ill after consuming mid-day meals earlier this month.

Hearing a PIL, a division bench of Justices Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Mohit Kumar Shah also raised questions over alleged discrepancies in the collection and testing of food samples in the case. The children fell ill on May 7 after consuming food served under the PM POSHAN scheme in schools at Baluaha and Chandrayan villages in Saharsa district.

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In an order dated May 19, the bench referred to a forensic inspection report mentioning recovery of “small snakes” from food plates at a government middle school in Baluaha village. The court directed the Saharsa SP, Food Safety Officer and PM POSHAN officials to file affidavits explaining the seizure, sampling and laboratory examination process.

The bench expressed concern over a separate sampling exercise allegedly conducted by the food safety officer, who claimed to have independently collected ‘dal’ and ‘khichdi’ samples and sent them to a laboratory at Agamkuan through courier. It also noted discrepancies between the officer’s statement and the laboratory report, which described the samples as “pulses” and “vegetables”.

The court questioned the delay in sending samples to the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory in Bhagalpur and directed the Saharsa SP to personally supervise the probe and head the SIT formed in the case.

The bench also asked the PM POSHAN Directorate to examine whether the NGO supplying meals to 144 schools should be allowed to continue operations during the investigation. The NGO, Bharat Ratna Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar Dalit Udhthan Avam Shiksha Samiti, was added as a respondent in the case. The matter will next be heard on June 2.