A food-related health scare at the Central Scheduled Caste Girls’ Hostel near Textile College More in Berhampore, Murshidabad, has left at least 44 residents ill, with several taken to hospital and police detaining a hostel cook for questioning on October 12.
The students reported dizziness, nausea, vomiting sensations and repeated dryness of the throat after eating dinner on Saturday night. The affected residents were taken to Murshidabad Medical College after hostel security guards and others responded to the complaints. The initial concern was possible food poisoning, according to the report.
Some students and their parents later alleged that a drug-like substance had been mixed into the dinner. They linked the symptoms to a paneer preparation served that night and said students who did not eat the dish did not experience similar health problems. The allegation has not been established by the police or an independent medical investigation.
A CCTV recording from the hostel kitchen has also emerged in connection with the complaint. Anandabazar reported that the footage appeared to show the detained cook adding something to a cooking vessel, while explicitly stating that it had not independently verified the authenticity of the footage. The footage, therefore, remains part of the investigation rather than conclusive evidence of contamination.
Several students filed a written complaint at Berhampore police station. Police said the complaint was being examined and that the cook had been detained and was being questioned. The report does not state whether the police have confirmed the presence of any drug or other harmful substance in the food, or whether laboratory testing has been completed.
Parents gathered at the hostel after learning that students had fallen ill. One parent, Ruma Haldar, said her daughter, a first-year mathematics student who had been staying at the hostel for about a week, had been unwell since the night of October 10 and was in hospital. Another parent, Bimalkumar Mondal, said his daughter had complained of persistent dizziness and nausea and called for an investigation into the CCTV footage and the food.
The incident has also raised questions about the hostel’s emergency response. Parents questioned why the authorities did not inform the police immediately after multiple residents became ill. Hostel officials said their first priority had been to arrange medical care and take the students to hospital one by one, leaving them no time to contact the police. The hostel said it was also examining the truth of the allegations.
The immediate investigation will have to establish the cause of the students’ symptoms, verify the CCTV footage, determine what food was served and assess whether any substance was present in it. Police questioning and the medical examination of the affected residents remain the next stated steps in the case.
