A physical education teacher was arrested on Thursday for allegedly falsely claiming that worms were found in food served to students at the State Sports Meet in Kozhikode, police said, in a report carried by The Hindu. The arrested teacher, Jijo James, works at a vocational higher secondary school in Ernakulam district. Police said he had made the allegation in a Facebook post on Wednesday, and that organisers subsequently inspected the food and found the claim to be false.
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Following the allegation, the Students' Federation of India (SFI) held a protest march, officials said. The Kunnamangalam police registered a case against James on a complaint filed by Sports Meet Convenor P.K. Aravindan. He was booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for allegedly giving provocation with intent to cause a riot. As the offence is bailable, he is expected to be released on bail, police said. By Thursday evening, James had deleted the social media post, officials added.
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General Education Minister N. Samsudheen alleged that the incident could be part of a larger conspiracy to disrupt the sporting event and said departmental action would be taken against the teacher. "The incident was not created by him alone. There are people with an anti-social mindset behind attempts to disrupt the meet, and their role should be investigated," the minister told reporters. He said the alleged conspiracy should not necessarily be viewed as political, but added that the conduct of certain people had raised suspicions.
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The minister also condemned the alleged assault on media personnel covering the incident, saying nobody had the right to attack journalists and that action would be taken after examining the circumstances. The State Sports Meet, being held at the NIT Kozhikode ground, features students from schools under the General Education Department; Samsudheen said the event was progressing smoothly, with new records being set, and expressed confidence that it would conclude as scheduled on October 31.
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On complaints over the age eligibility of participants, particularly those from other states, the minister said verification had been tightened and medical examinations conducted, and that action would be taken against students found to have submitted fabricated age documents, as well as schools and teachers who allegedly helped them. Police said further investigation into the food-claim case is under way. All claims in the case — the original worms allegation, the police finding that it was false, and the minister's conspiracy allegation — remain allegations at this stage.