Patna:

Ten students of a government engineering college in Bihar’s Banka district had to be taken to a hospital last week after a dead snake was allegedly found in their mess food. The on-duty doctor said the students came Thursday night with complaints of food poisoning and all are healthy now.

The incident sparked outrage at the hostel with the students alleging a college staff had even threatened them when they protested the incident.

“We have been facing issues with food (quality) at the mess. But they crossed the limit this time. A snake was found in the food. No one can tolerate this. Every time we raised this with the faculty, they tried to bury the issue,” said Sunny Mahto, a third-year student.

The mess is run by a private contractor.

The issue with food quality pertains to the girls’ mess too, pointed out a student, Ayushi.

“SDM sir had come for an inspection a long time back and 90% of the food was found to be expired. The rules are such that if one has to stay in the hostel, they must eat the mess food. If one does not eat mess food or keeps mess charges unpaid, they are barred from the exam,” she said.

The district administration has started an investigation into the latest incident.

A food-related complaint was reported at the college earlier as well. The administration had probed it and issued an instruction to the college, Live Hindustan quoted District Magistrate Anshul Kumar as saying.

Strict action will be taken against those found guilty if such an incident has occurred again, he added.

Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) Avinash Kumar and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Vinod Kumar visited the college Friday evening and appealed to the students to maintain peace.