‘Over 100 students fell ill after eating lunch’

FIR lodged against Noida school management; teams visit hospitals

A day after several students fell ill following a meal at a Noida school, teams formed by the Gautam Budh Nagar District Magistrate on Friday visited various hospitals and met parents of the victims to record statements.

Officials said over 100 students had fallen ill after consuming a meal at Step by Step School in Noida Sector 132 on Thursday instead of the initial estimate of 25 children.

“We visited Apollo Hospital, where we found that five children were admitted but released on Friday. Nine children were admitted to Max Hospital, of which two are still admitted. Eighteen children were rushed to Jaypee Hospital, of which 17 have been released,” said Sanjaya Srivastava, Food Safety Officer, Gautam Budh Nagar.

The teams also visited four other hospitals to ascertain the number of students affected.

Students had complained of severe stomach ache after eating lunch on Thursday. The children were taken to various hospitals across the NCR for treatment.

The Food and Safety Department has taken samples of food items served for lunch to the students for forensic testing.

Food samples taken

“If the food samples fail, strict action will be taken against the school,” said District Magistrate B. N. Singh, adding that a report is expected within a week.

“A parent whose son fell sick has given a complaint and we have lodged an FIR against the school under Section 328 [causing hurt by means of poison]. It seems that more than 100 children fell sick. We are trying to meet the families of students to record statements for further investigation,” said Vedpal Singh Pundir, Station House Officer, Expressway police station.

The school management has also been charged under Sections 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty). It is alleged that the management did not allow administration teams to enter the premises to probe the incident.

The All Noida School Parents’ Association will meet the Meerut Zone Commissioner on Monday, and is likely to demand that the school’s licence be revoked.

2014 case

In 2014, the Food and Safety Department had taken samples of juice from the school canteen. The samples had failed the test and the administration had imposed a fine of ₹6.5 lakh on the school management and owner of the canteen.